LIBRARY    OF   THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA 

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LIBRARY   OF   THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA 


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E   UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA         LIBRARY   OF   THE    UNIVER 


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NATHANIEL  HAWTHORNE. 


TANGLEWOOD 
TALES 


BY 
NATHANIEL  HAWTHORNE 


CHICAGO 
W.  B.  CONKEY  COMPANY  -)\ 


A 


THE  WAYSIDE. 


INTRODUCTION. 

A  short  time  ago  I  was  favored  with  a  fly- 
tng  visit  from  my  young  friend  Eustace 
Bright,  whom  I  had  not  before  met  with  since 
quitting  the  breezy  mountains  of  Berkshire. 
It  being  the  winter  vacation  at  his  college, 
Eustace  was  allowing  himself  a  little  relaxa 
tion,  in  the  hope,  he  told  me,  of  repairing  the 
inroads  which  severe  application  to  study  had 
'made  upon  his  health;  and  I  was  happy  to 
conclude,  from  the  excellent  physical  condi 
tion  in  which  I  saw  him,  that  the  remedy  had 
already  been  attended  with  very  desirable  suc 
cess.  He  had  now  run  up  from  Boston  by  the 
noon  train,  partly  impelled  by  the  friendly  re 
gard  with  which  he  is  pleased  to  honor  me, 
and  partly,  as  I  soon  found,  on  a  matter  of 
literary  business. 

It  delighted  me  to  receive  Mr.  Bright,  for 
the  first  time,  under  a  roof,  though  a  very 
humble  one,  which  I  could  really  call  my  own. 
3 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

Nor  did  I  fail  (as  is  the  custom  of  landed  pro 
prietors  all  about  the  world)  to  parade  the  poo** 
fellow  up  and  down  over  my  half  a  dozen 
acres;  secretly  rejoicing  nevertheless,  that  the 
disarray  of  the  inclement  season,  and  particu 
larly  the  six  inches  of  snow  then  upon  the 
ground,  prevented  him  from  observing  the 
ragged  neglect  of  soil  and  shrubbery  into 
which  the  place  has  lapsed.  It  was  idle,  how 
ever,  to  imagine  that  an  airy  guest  from 
Monument  Mountain,  Bald-Summit,  and  old 
Gray-lock,  shaggy  with  primeval  forests,  could 
see  anything  to  admire  in  my  poor  little  hill 
side,  with  its  growth  of  frail  and  insect-eaten 
locust-trees  Eustace  very  frankly  called  the 
view  from  my  hill-top  tame;  and  so,  no  doubt, 
it  was,  after  rough,  broken,  rugged,  headlong 
Berkshire,  and  especially  the  northern  parts 
of  the  county,  with  which  his  college  residence 
had  made  him  familiar.  But  to  me  there  is  a 
peculiar,  quiet  charm  in  these  broad  meadows 
and  gentle  eminences.  They  are  better  thar* 
mountains,  because  they  do  not  stamp  an<? 
stereotype  themselves  into  the  brain,  and  thu3 
grow  wearisome  with  the  same  strong  impres 
sion,  repeated  day  after  day.  A  few  summer 
weeks  among  mountains,  a  lifetime  among 
green  meadows  and  placid  slopes,  with  outlines 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

forever  new,  because  continually  fading  out  of 
the  memory,  —such  would  be  my  sober  choice. 

I  doubt  whether  Eustace  did  not  internally 
pronounce  the  whole  thing  a  bore,  until  I  led 
him  to  my  predecessor's  little  ruined,  rustic 
summer-house,  midway  on  the  hillside.  It  is 
a  mere  skeleton  of  slender,  decaying  tree- 
trunks,  with  neither  walls  nor  a  roof;  nothing 
but  a  tracery  of  branches  and  twigs,  which  the 
next  wintry  blast  will  be  very  likely  to  scatter 
in  fragments  along  the  terrace.  It  looks,  and 
is,  as  evanescent  as  a  dream;  and  yet,  in  its 
rustic  network  of  boughs,  it  has  somehow  en 
closed  a  hint  of  spiritual  beauty,  and  has  be 
come  a  true  emblem  of  the  subtle  and  ethereal 
mind  that  planned  it.  I  made  Eustace  Bright 
sit  down  on  a  snow-bank,  which  had  heaped 
itself  over  the  mossy  seat,  and  gazing  through 
the  arched  window  opposite,  he  acknowledged 
that  the  scene  at  once  grew  picturesque. 

"Simple  as  it  looks,"  said  he,  "this  little 
edifice  seems  to  be  the  work  of  magic.  It  is 
full  of  suggestiveness,  and,  in  its  way,  is  as 
good  as  a  cathedral.  Ah,  it  would  be  just  the 
spot  for  one  to  sit  in,  of  a  summer  afternoon, 
and  tell  the  children  some  more  of  those  wild 
stores  from  the  classic  myths!" 

"It  would,   indeed,"    answered    L      "The 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

summer-house  itself,  so  airy  and  so  broken,  is 
like  one  of  those  old  tales,  imperfectly  remem 
bered;  and  these  living  branches  of  the  Bald 
win  apple-tree,  thrusting  themselves  so  rudely 
in,  are  like  your  unwarrantable  interpolations. 
But,  by  the  by,  have  you  added  any  more 
legends  to  the  series,  since  the  publication  of 
the  Wonder  Book?" 

"Many  more,"  said  Eustace;  "Primrose, 
Periwinkle,  and  the  rest  of  them  allow,  me  no 
comfort  of  my  life,  unless  I  tell  them  a  story 
every  day  or  two.  I  have  run  away  from  home 
partly  to  escape  the  importunity  of  those  little 
wretches!  But  I  have  written  out  six  of  the 
new  stories,  and  have  brought  them  for  you  to 
look  over. " 

44  Are  they  as  good  as  the  first?"  I  inquired. 

4 'Better  chosen,  and  better  handled," 
replied  Eustace  Bright.  44You  will  say  so 
when  you  read  them." 

4 'Possibly  not,"  I  remarked.  "I  know, 
from  my  own  experience,  that  an  author's  last 
work  is  always  his  best  one,  in  his  own  esti 
mate,  until  it  quite  loses  the  red  heat  of  com 
position.  After  that,  it  falls  into  its  true 
place,  quietly  enough.  But  let  us  adjourn  to 
my  study,  and  examine  these  new  stories.  It 
would  hardly  be  doing  yourself  justice,  were 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

you  to  bring  me  acquainted  with  them,  sitting 
here  on  this  snowbank!" 

So  we  descended  the  hill  to  my  small,  old 
cottage,  and  shut  ourselves  up  in  the  south 
eastern  room,  where  the  sunshine  comes  in, 
warmly  and  brightly,  through  the  better  half 
of  a  winter's  day.  Eustace  put  his  bundle  of 
manuscript  into  my  hands;  and  I  skimmed 
through  it  pretty  rapidly,  trying  to  find  out  its 
merits  and  demerits  by  the  touch  of  my 
fingers,  as  a  veteran  story-teller  ought  to  know 
how  to  do. 

It  will  be  remembered,  that  Mr.  Bright  con 
descended  to  avail  himself  of  my  literary  ex 
perience  by  constituting  me  editor  of  the 
Wonder  Book.  As  he  had  no  reason  to  com 
plain  of  the  reception  of  that  erudite  work  by 
the  public,  he  was  now  disposed  to  retain  me 
in  a  similar  position,  with  respect  to  the  pres 
ent  volume,  which  he  entitled  <4Tanglewood 
Tales."  Not,  as  Eustace  hinted,  that  there 
was  any  real  necessity  for  my  services  as  intro- 
ductor,  inasmuch  as  his  own  name  had  become 
established,  in  some  good  degree  of  favor, 
with  the  literary  world.  But  the  connection 
with  myself,  he  was  kind  enough  to  say,  had 
been  highly  agreeable;  nor  was  he  by  any 
means  desirous,  as  most  people  are,  of  kicking 


S  INTRODUCTION. 

away  the  ladder  that  had  perhaps  helped  him 
to  reach  his  present  elevation.  My  young 
friend  was  willing,  in  short,  that  the  fresh  ver 
dure  of  his  growing  reputation  should  spread 
over  my  straggling  and  half-naked  boughs; 
even  as  I  have  sometimes  thought  of  training 
a  vine,  with  its  broad  leafmess,  and  purple 
fruitage,  over  the  worm-eaten  posts  and  rafters 
of  the  rustic  summer-house.  I  was  not  insen 
sible  to  the  advantages  of  his  proposal,  and 
gladly  assured  him  of  my  acceptance. 

Merely  from  the  titles  of  the  stories,  I  saw 
at  once  that  the  subjects  were  not  less  rich 
than  those  of  the  former  volume ;  nor  did  I  at 
all  doubt  that  Mr.  Bright's  audacity  (so  far  as 
that  endowment  might  avail)  had  enabled  him 
to  take  full  advantage  of  whatever  capabilities 
they  offered.  Yet,  in  spite  of  my  experience 
of  his  free  way  of  handling  them,  I  did  not 
quite  see,  I  confess,  how  he  could  have  obvi 
ated  all  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  rendering 
them  presentable  to  children.  These  old 
legends,  so  brimming  over  with  everything 
that  is  most  abhorrent  to  our  Christianized 
moral  sense, — some  of  them  so  hideous,  others 
so  melancholy  and  miserable,  amid  which  the 
Greek  tragedians  sought  their  themes,  and 
moulded  them  into  the  sternest  forms  of  grief 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

that  ever  the  world  saw;  was  such  material 
the  stuff  that  children's  playthings  should  be 
made  of!  How  were  they  to  be  purified? 
How  was  the  blessed  sunshine  to  be  thrown 
into  them? 

But  Eustace  told  me  that  these  myths  were 
the  most  singular  things  in  the  world,  and 
that  he  was  .invariably  astonished,  whenever 
he  began  to  relate  one,  by  the  readiness  with 
which  it  adapted  itself  to  the  childish  purity  of 
his  auditors.  The  objectionable  characteris 
tics  seem  to  be  a  parasitical  growth,  having  no 
essential  connection  with  the  original  fable. 
They  fall  away,  and  are  thought  of  no  more, 
the  instant  he  puts  his  imagination  in  sym 
pathy  with  the  innocent  little  circle,  whose 
wide-open  eyes  are  fixed  so  eagerly  upon  him. 
Thus  the  stones  (not  by  any  strained  effort 
of  the  narrator's,  but  in  harmony  with  their 
inherent  germ)  transform  themselves,  and  re- 
assume  the  shapes  which  they  might  be  sup 
posed  to  possess  in  the  pure  childhood  of  the 
world.  When  the  first  poet  or  romancer  told 
these  marvelous  legends  (such  is  Eustace 
Bright's  opinion),  it  was  still  the  Golden 
Age.  Evil  had  never  yet  existed ;  and  sorrow, 
misfortune,  crime,  were  mere  shadows  which 
the  mind  fancifully  created  for  itself,  as  a 


ID  INTRODUCTION. 

shelter  against  too  sunny  realities;  or,  at  most, 
but  prophetic  dreams,  to  which  the  dreamer 
himself  did  not  yield  a  waking  credence. 
Children  are  now  the  only  representatives 
of  the  men  and  women  of  that  happy  era;  and 
therefore  it  is  that  we  must  raise  the  intellect 
and  fancy  to  the  level  of  childhood,  in  order 
to  re-create  the  original  myths. 

I  let  the  youthful  author  talk  as  much  and 
as  extravagantly  as  he  pleased,  and  was  glad  to 
see  him  commencing  life  with  such  confidence 
in  himself  and  his  performances.  A  few  years 
will  do  all  that  is  necessary  towards  showing 
him  the  truth  in  both  respects.  Meanwhile,  it 
is  but  right  to  say,  he  does  really  appear  to 
have  overcome  the  moral  objections  against 
these  fables,  although  at  the  expense  of  such 
liberties  with  their  structure  as  must  be  left 
to  plead  their  own  excuse,  without  any  help 
from  me.  Indeed,  except  that  there  was  a 
necessity  for  it, — and  that  the  inner  life  of  the 
legends  cannot  be  come  at  save  by  making 
them  entirely  one's  own  property, — there  is  no 
defence  to  be  made. 

Eustace  informed  me  that  he  had  told  his 
stories  to  the  children  in  various  situations,  — 
in  the  woods,  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  in  the 
dell  of  Shadow  Brook,  in  the  play- room,  at 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

Tanglewood  fireside,  and  in  a  magnificent 
palace  of  snow,  with  ice  windows,  which  he 
helped  his  little  friends  to  build.  His  auditors 
were  even  more  delighted  with  the  contents 
of  the  present  volume  than  with  the  speci 
mens  which  have  already  been  given  to  the 
world.  The  classically  learned  Mr.  Pringle, 
too,  had  listened  to  two  or  three  of  the  tales, 
and  censured  them  even  more  bitterly  than 
he  did  The  Three  Golden  Apples;  so  that, 
what  with  praise,  and  what  with  criticism, 
Eustace  Bright  thinks  that  there  is  good  hope 
of  at  least  as  much  success  with  the  public  as 
in  the  case  of  the  Wonder  Book. 

I  made  all  sorts  of  inquiries  about  the  chil 
dren,  not  doubting  that  there  would  be  great 
eagerness  to  hear  of  their  welfare  among  some 
good  little  folks  who  have  written  to  me,  to 
ask  for  another  volume  of  myths.  They  are 
all,  I  am  happy  to  say  (unless  we  except 
Clover),  in  excellent  health  and  spirits.  Prim 
rose  is  now  almost  a  young  lady,  and,  Eustace 
tells  me,  is  just  as  saucy  as  ever.  She  pre 
tends  to  consider  herself  quite  beyond  the  age 
to  be  interested  by  such  idle  stories  as  these; 
but,  for  all  that,  whenever  a  story  is  to  be  told, 
Primrose  never  fails  to  be  one  of  the  listeners, 
and  to  make  fun  of  it  when  finished.  Peri- 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

winkle  is  very  much  grown,  and  is  expected 
to  shut  up  her  baby- house  and  throw  away  her 
doll  in  a  month  or  two  more.  Sweet  Fern  has 
learned  to  read  and  write,  and  has  put  on  a 
jacket  and  pair  of  pantaloons, — all  of  which 
improvements  I  am  sorry  for.  Squash-Blos 
som,  Blue  Eye,  Plantain,  and  Buttercup  have 
had  the  scarlet  fever,  but  came  easily  through 
it.  Huckleberry,  Milkweed,  and  Dandelion 
were  attacked  with  the  whooping-cough,  but 
bore  it  bravely,  and  kept  out  of  doors  whenever 
the  sun  shone.  Cowslip,  during  the  autumn, 
had  either  the  measles,  or  some  eruption  that 
looked  very  much  like  it,  but  was  hardly  sick  a 
day.  Poor  Clover  has  been  a  good  deal  troubled 
with  her  second  teeth,  which  have  made 
her  meagre  in  aspect  and  rather  fractious  in 
temper ;  nor,  even  when  she  smiles,  is  the  mat 
ter  much  mended,  since  it  discloses  a  gap  just 
within  her  lips,  almost  as  wide  as  the  barn 
door.  But  all  this  will  pass  over,  and  it  is  pre 
dicted  that  she  will  turn  out  a  very  pretty  girl. 
As  for  Mr.  Bright  himself,  he  is  now  in  his 
senior  year  at  Williams  College,  and  has  a 
prospect  of  graduating  with  some  degree  of 
honorable  distinction  at  the  next  Commence 
ment.  In  his  oration  for  the  bachelor's  de 
gree,  he  gives  me  to  understand,  he  will  treat 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

of  the  classical  myths,  viewed  in  the  aspect  of 
baby  stories,  and  has  a  great  mind  to  discuss 
the  expediency  of  using  up  the  whole  of 
ancient  history  for  the  same  purpose.  I  do  not 
know  what  he  means  to  do  with  himself  after 
leaving  college,  but  trust  that,  by  dabbling  so 
early  with  the  dangerous  and  seductive  bus 
iness  of  authorship,  he  will  not  be  tempted  to 
become  an  author  by  profession.  If  so,  I  shall 
be  very  sorry  for  the  little  that  I  have  had  to 
do  with  the  matter,  in  encouraging  these  first 
beginnings. 

I  wish  there  were  any  likelihood  of  my  soon 
seeing  Primrose,  Periwinkle,  Dandelion, 
Sweet  Fern,  Clover,  Plantain,  Huckleberry, 
Milkweed,  Cowslip,  Buttercup,  Blue  Eye,  and 
Squash- Blossom  again.  But  as  I  do  not  know 
when  I  shall  revisit  Tanglewood,  and  as  Eus 
tace  Bright  probably  will  not  ask  me  to  edit  a 
third  Wonder  Book,  the  public  of  little  folks 
must  not  expect  to  hear  any  more  about  these 
dear  children  from  me.  Heaven  bless  them, 
and  everybody  else,  whether  grown  people  or 
children ! 

The  Wayside,  Concord,  Mass., 
March  13,  1853. 


THE  MINOTAUR. 

In  the  old  city  of  Troezene,  at  the  foot  of  a 
lofty  mountain,  there  lived,  a  very  long  time 
ago,  a  little  boy  named  Theseus.  His  grand 
father,  King  Pittheus,  was  the  sovereign  of  that 
country,  and  was  reckoned  a  very  wise  man ; 
so  that  Theseus,  being  brought  up  in  the  royal 
palace,  and  being  naturally  a  bright  lad,  could 
hardly  fail  of  profiting  by  the  old  king's 
instructions.  His  mother's  name  was  Aethra. 
As  for  his  father,  the  boy  had  never  seen  him. 
But,  from  his  earliest  remembrance,  Aethra 
used  to  go  with  little  Theseus  into  a  wood,  and 
sit  down  upon  a  moss-grown  rock,  which  was 
deeply  sunken  into  the  earth.  Here  she  often 
talked  with  her  son  about  his  father,  and  said 
that  he  was  called  Aegeus,  and  that  he  was  a 
great  king,  and  ruled  over  Attica,  and  dwelt  at 
Athens,  which  was  as  famous  a  city  as  any  in 
the  world.  Theseus  was  very  fond  of  hearing 
about  King  Aegeus,  and  often  asked  his  good 
mother  Aethra  why  he  did  not  come  and  live 
with  them  at  Troezene. 
15 


16  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

"Ah,  my  dear  son,"  answered  Aethra,  with 
a  sigh,  "a  monarch  has  his  people  to  take  care 
of.  The  men  and  women  over  whom  he  rules 
are  in  the  place  of  children  to  him;  and  he  can 
seldom  spare  time  to  love  his  own  children  as 
other  parents  do.  Your  father  will  never  be 
able  to  leave  his  kingdom  for  the  sake  of  seeing 
his  little  boy." 

"Well,  but,  dear  mother/'  asked  the  boy, 
44  why  cannot  I  go  to  this  famous  city  of  Athens, 
and  tell  King  Aegeus  that  I  am  his  son?" 

"That  may  happen  by  and  by,"  said  Aethra, 
"Be  patient,  and  we  shall  see.  You  are  not 
yet  big  and  strong  enough  to  set  out  on  such 
an  errand." 

"And  how  soon  shall  I  be  strong  enough?" 
Theseus  persisted  in  inquiring. 

"You  are  but  a  tiny  boy  as  yet,"  replied 
his  mother.  "See  if  you  can  lift  this  rock  on 
which  we  are  sitting?" 

The  little  fellow  had  a  great  opinion  of  his 
own  strength.  So,  grasping  the  rough  pro- 
turberances  of  the  rock,  he  tugged  and  toiled 
amain,  and  got  himself  quite  out  of  breath, 
without  being  able  to  stir  the  heavy  stone.  It 
seemed  to  be  rooted  into  the  ground.  No 
wonder  he  could  not  move  it,  for  it  would  have 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  17 

taken  all  the  force  of  a  very  strong  man  to  lift 
it  out  of  its  earthy  bed. 

His  mother  stood  looking  on,  with  a  sad  kind 
of  a  smile  on  her  lips  and  in  her  eyes,  to  see 
the  zealous  and  yet  puny  efforts  of  her  little 
boy.  She  could  not  help  being  sorrowful  at 
finding  him  already  so  impatient  to  begin  his 
adventures  in  the  world. 

"You  see  how  it  is,  my  dear  Theseus,'*  said 
she.  "You  must  possess  far  more  strength 
than  now  before  I  can  trust  you  to  go  to 
Athens  and  tell  King  Aegeus  that  you  are  his 
son.  But  when  you  can  lift  this  rock,  and 
show  me  what  is  hidden  beneath  it,  I  promise- 
you  my  permission  to  depart. ' ' 

Often^and  often,  after  this,  did  Theseus  ask 
his  mother  whether  it  was  yet  time  for  him  to 
go  to  Athens ;  and  still  his  mother  pointed  to 
the  rock,  and  told  him  that,  for  years  to  come, 
he  could  not  be  strong  enough  to  move  it. 
And  again  and  again  the  rosy-cheeked  and 
curly-headed  boy  would  tug  and  strain  at  the 
huge  mass  of  stone,  striving,  child  as  he  was, 
to  do  what  a  giant  could  hardly  have  done 
without  taking  both  of  his  great  hands  to  the 
task.  Meanwhile  the  rock  seemed  to  be  sink 
ing  farther  and  farther  into  the  ground.  The 
moss  grew  over  it  thicker  and  thicker,  until  at 

2    Tanglewood  Tales 


18  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

last  it  looked  almost  like  a  soft  green  seat,  with 
only  a  few  gray  knobs  of  granite  peeping  out. 
The  over-hanging  trees,  also,  shed  their  brown 
leaves  upon  it,  as  often  as  the  autumn  came, 
and  at  its  base  grew  ferns  and  wild  flowers, 
some  of  which  crept  quite  over  its  surface. 
To  all  appearance  the  rock  was  as  firmly  fast- 
'  ened  as  any  other  portion  of  the  earth's  sub 
stance. 

But,  difficult  as  the  matter  looked,  Theseus 
was  now  growing  up  to  be  such  a  vigorous 
youth,  that,  in  his  own  opinion,  the  time  would 
quickly  come  when  he  might  hope  to  get  the 
upper  hand  of  this  ponderous  lump  of  stone. 

4 'Mother,  I  do  believe  it  has  started!"  cried 
he,  after  one  of  his  attempts.  "The  earth 
around  it  is  certainly  a  little  cracked!" 

' '  No,  no,  child ! "  his  mother  hastily  answered. 
"It  is  not  possible  you  could  have  moved  it, 
such  a  boy  as  you  still  are!" 

Nor  would  she  be  convinced,  although 
Theseus  showed  her  the  place  where  he  fancied 
that  the  stem  of  a  flower  had  been  partly  up 
rooted  by  the  movement  of  the  rock.  But, 
Aethra  sighed  and  looked  disquieted;  for,  no 
doubt,  she  began  to  be  conscious  that  her  son 
was  no  longer  a  child,  and  that  in  a  little  while 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  19 

hence,  she  must  send  him  forth  among  the 
perils  and  troubles  of  the  world. 

It  was  not  more  than  a  year  afterwards  when 
they  were  again  sitting  on  the  moss-covered 
stone.  Aethra  had  once  more  told  him  the 
oft- repeated  story  of  his  father,  and  how  gladly 
he  would  receive  Theseus  at  his  stately  palace, 
and  how  he  would  present  him  to  his  courtries 
and  the  people,  and  tell  them  that  here  was 
the  heir  of  his  dominions.  The  eyes  of  Theseus 
glowed  with  enthusiasm,  and  he  would  hardly 
sit  still  to  hear  his  mother  speak. 

"Dear  mother  Aethra,"  he  exclaimed,  "I 
never  felt  half  so  strong  as  now !  I  am  no 
longer  a  child,  nor  a  boy,  nor  a  mere  youth ! 
I  feel  myself  a  man!  It  is  now  time  to  make 
one  earnest  trial  to  remove  the  stone. ' ' 

"Ah,  my  dearest  Theseus,"  replied  his 
mother,  "not  yet!  not  yet!" 

"Yes,  mother,"  said  he,  resolutely,  "the 
time  has  come. " 

Then  Theseus  bent  himself  in  good  earnest 
to  the  task,  and  strained  every  sinew  with 
manly  strength  and  resolution.  He  put  his 
whole  brave  heart  into  the  effort.  He  wrestled 
with  the  big  and  sluggish  stone  as  if  it  had 
been  a  living  enemy.  He  heaved,  he  lifted, 
he  resolved  now  to  succeed,  or  else  to  perish 


20  TANGLEWOOD  TALES, 

there,  and  let  the  rock  be  his  monument  for 
ever  !  Aethra  stood  gazing  at  him,  and  clasped 
her  hands,  partly  with  a  mother's  pride,  and 
partly  with  a  mother's  sorrow.  The  great  rock 
stirred!  Yes,  it  was  raised  slowly  from  the 
bedded  moss  and  earth,  uprooting  the  shrubs 
and  flowers  along  with  it,  and  was  turned  upon 
its  side.  Theseus  had  conquered! 

While  taking  breath  he  looked  joyfully  at 
his  mother,  and  she  smiled  upon  him  through 
her  tears. 

4 'Yes,  Theseus,"  she  said,  "the  time  has 
come,  and  you  must  stay  no  longer  at  my 
side!  See  what  King  Aegeus,  your  royal 
father,  left  for  you  beneath  the  stone,  when  he 
lifted  it  in  his  mighty  arms  and  laid  it  on  the 
spot  whence  you  have  now  removed  it." 

Theseus  looked,  and  saw  that  the  rock  had 
been  placed  over  another  slab  of  stone  contain 
ing  a  cavity  within  it;  so  that  it  somewhat 
resembled  a  roughly-made  chest  or  coffer,  of 
which  the  upper  mass  had  served  as  the  lid. 
Within  the  cavity  lay  a  sword  with  a  golden 
hilt  and  a  pair  of  sandals. 

44  That  was  your  father's  sword,"  said 
Aethra,  44and  those  were  his  sandals.  When 
he  went  to  be  King  of  Athens  he  bade  me  treat 
you  as  a  child  until  you  should  prove  yourself 


TANGLEWOOD  TALESC  21 

a  man  by  lifting  this  heavy  stone.  That  task 
being  accomplished,  you  are  to  put  on  his 
sandals  in  order  to  follow  in  your  father's  foot 
steps,  and  also  gird  on  his  sword,  so  that  you 
may  fight  giants  and  dragons,  as  King  Aegeus 
did  in  his  youth.  " 

"I  will  set  out  for  Athens  this  very  day!" 
cried  Theseus. 

But  his  mother  persuaded  him  to  stay  a  day 
or  two  longer,  while  she  got  ready  some  neces 
sary  articles  for  his  journey.  When  his  grand 
father,  the  wise  King  Pittheus,  heard  that 
Theseus  intended  to  present  himself  at  his 
father's  palace,  he  earnestly  advised  him  to  get 
on  board  of  a  vessel  and  go  by  sea;  because  he 
might  thus  arrive  within  fifteen  miles  of 
Athens,  without  either  fatigue  or  danger. 

"The  roads  are  very  bad  by  land,"  quoth  the 
venerable  king ;  "  and  they  are  terribly  infested 
with  robbers  and  monsters.  A  mere  lad,  like 
Theseus,  is  not  fit  to  be  trusted  on  such  a  peril 
ous  journey  all  by  himself.  No,  nom;  let  him 
go  by  sea!0 

But  when  Theseus  heard  of  robbers  and 
monsters  he  pricked  up  his  ears,  and  was  so 
much  the  more  eager  to  take  the  road  along 
which  they  were  to  be  met  with.  On  the  third 
day,  therefore,  he  bade  a  respectful  farewell 


22  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

to  his  grandfather,  thanking  him  for  all  his 
kindness,  and,  after  affectionately  embracing 
his  mother,  he  set  forth,  with  a  good  many  of 
her  tears  glistening  on  his  cheeks,  and  some, 
if  the  truth  must  be  told,  that  had  gushed  out 
of  his  own  eyes.  But  he  let  the  sun  and  wind 
dry  them,  and  walked  stoutly  on,  playing  with 
the  golden  hilt  of  his  sword,  and  taking  very 
manly  strides  in  his  father's  sandals. 

I  cannot  stop  to  tell  you  hardly  any  of  the 
adventures  that  befell  Theseus  on  the  road  to 
Athens.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  he  quite 
cleared  that  part  of  the  country  of  the  rolbers, 
about  whom  King  Pittheus  had  been  so  much 
alarmed.  One  of  these  bad  people  was  named 
Procrustes;  and  he  was  indeed  a  terrible  fel 
low,  and  had  an  ugly  way  of  making  fun  of  the 
poor  travelers  who  happened  to  fall  into  his 
clutches.  In  his  cavern  he  had  a  bed,  on 
which,  with  great  pretence  of  hospitality,  he 
invited  his  guests  to  lie  down ;  but  if  they 
happened  to  be  shorter  than  the  bed,  this 
wicked  villain  stretched  them  out  by  main 
force;  or,  if  they  were  too  long,  he  lopped  off 
their  heads  or  feet,  and  laughed  at  what  he  had 
done  as  an  excellent  joke.  Thus,  however 
weary  a  man  might  be,  he  never  liked  to  lie  in 
the  bed  of  Procrustes,  Another  of  these  rob- 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  23 

bers,  named  Scinis,  must  likewise  have  been  a 
very  great  scoundrel.  He  was  in  the  habit  of 
-flinging  his  victims  off  a  high  cliff  into  the  sea; 
and,  in  order  to  give  him  exactly  his  deserts, 
Theseus  tossed  him  off  the  very  same  place. 
But,  if  you  will  believe  me,  the  sea  would  not 
pollute  itself  by  receiving  such  a  bad  person 
into  its  bosom,  neither  would  the  earth,  having 
once  got  rid  of  him,  consent  to  take  him  back; 
so  that,  between  the  cliff  and  the  sea,  Scinis 
stuck  fast  in  the  air,  which  was  forced  to  bear 
the  burden  of  his  naughtiness. 

After  these  memorable  deeds,  Theseus  heard 
of  an  enormous  sow,  which  ran  wild,  and  was 
the  terror  of  all  the  farmers  round  about ;  and, 
as  he  did  not  consider  himself  above  doing  any 
good  thing  that  came  in  his  way,  he  killed  this 
monstrous  creature,  and  gave  the  carcass  to 
the  poor  people  for  bacon.  The  great  sow  had 
been  an  awful  beast,  while  ramping  about  the 
woods  and  fields,  but  was  a  pleasant  object 
enough  when  cut  up  into  joints,  and  smoking 
on  I  know  not  how  many  dinner  tables. 

Thus,  by  the  time  he  reached  his  journey's 
end,  Theseus  had  done  many  valiant  feats  with 
his  father's  golden-hilted  sword,  and  had  gained 
the  renown  of  being  one  of  the  bravest  young 
men  of  the.  day.  His  fame  traveled  faster 


24  TANGLEWOOD   TALES, 

than  he  did,  and  reached  Athens  before  him. 
As  he  entered  the  city,  he  heard  the  inhabi-  . 
tants  talking  at  the  street-corners,  and  saying 
that  Hercules  was  brave  and  Jason  too,  and 
Castor  and  Pollux  likewise,  but  that  Theseus, 
the  son  of  their  own  king,  would  turn  out  as 
great  a  hero  as  the  best  of  them.  Theseus 
took  longer  strides  on  hearing  this,  and  fancied 
himself  sure  of  a  magnificent  reception  at  his 
father's  court,  since  he  came  thither  with 
Fame  to  blow  her  trumpet  before  him,  and  cry 
to  King  Aegeus,  '* Behold  your  son!" 

He  little  suspected,  innocent  youth  that  he 
was,  that  here,  in  this  very  Athens,  where  his 
{ather  reigned,  a  greater  danger  awaited  him 
than  any  which  he  had  encountered  on  the 
road.  Yet  this  was  the  truth.  You  must 
understand  that  the  father  of  Theseus,  though 
not  very  old  in  years,  was  almost  worn  out 
with  the  cares  of  government,  and  had  thus 
grown  aged  before  his  time.  His  nephews, 
not  expecting  him  to  live  a  very  great  while, 
intended  to  get  all  the  power  of  the  kingdom 
into  their  own  hands.  But  when  they  heard 
that  Theseus  had  arrived  in  Athens,  and 
learned  what  a  gallant  young  man  he  was, 
they  saw  that  he  would  not  be  at  all  the  kind 
of  person  to  let  them  steal  away  his  father's 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  25 

crown  and  sceptre,  which  ought  to  be  his  own 
by  right  of  inheritance.  Thus  these  bad- 
hearted  nephews  of  King  Aegeus,  who  were 
the  own  cousins  of  Theseus,  at  once  became 
his  snemies.  A  still  more  dangerous  enemy 
was  Medea,  the  wicked  enchantress;  for  she 
was  now  the  king's  wife,  and  wanted  to  give 
the  kingdom  to  her  son  Medus,  instead  of  let 
ting  it  be  given  to  the  son  of  Aethra,  whom 
she  hated. 

It  so  happened  that  the  king's  nephews  met 
Theseus,  and  found  out  who  he  was,  just  as 
he  reached  the  entrance  of  the  royal  palace. 
With  all  their  evil  designs  against  him,  they 
pretended  to  be  their  cousin's  best  friends,  and 
expressed  great  joy  at  making  his  acquaint 
ance.  They  proposed  to  him  that  he  should 
come  into  the  king's  presence  as  a  stranger,  in 
order  to  try  whether  Aegeus  would  discover 
in  the  young  man's  features  any  likeness 
cither  to  himself  or  his  mother  Aethra,  and 
thus  recognize  him  for  a  son,  Theseus  con 
sented;  for  he  fancied  that  his  father  would 
know  him  in  a  moment,  by  the  love  that  was 
in  his  heart.  But,  while  he  waited  at  the 
door,  the  nephews  ran  and  told  King  Aegeus 
that  a  young  man  had  arrived  in  Athens  who, 
to  their  certain  knowledge,  intended  to  put 


26  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

him  to  death,  and  get  possession  of  his  royal 
crown. 

44  And  he  is  now  waiting  for  admission  to 
your  Majesty's  presence,"  added  they. 

"Aha!"  cried  the  old  king,  on  hearing  this. 
14  Why,  he  must  be  a  very  wicked  young  fellow, 
indeed!  Pray,  what  would  you  advise  me  to 
do  with  him?" 

In  reply  to  this  question  the  wicked  Medea 
put  in  her  word.  As  I  have  already  told  you, 
she  was  a  famous  enchantress.  According  to 
some  stories,  she  was  in  the  habit  of  boiling 
old  people  in  a  large  caldron,  under  pretense 
of  making  them  young  again;  but  King 
Aegeus,  I  suppose,  did  not  fancy  such  an 
uncomfortable  way  of  growing  young,  or  per 
haps  was  contented  to  be  old,  and  therefore 
would  never  let  himself  be  popped  into  the 
caldron.  If  there  were  time  to  spare  from 
more  important  matters,  I  should  be  glad  to 
tell  you  of  Medea's  fiery  chariot,  drawn  by 
winged  dragons,  in  which  the  enchantress 
used  often  to  take  an  airing  among  the  clouds. 
This  chariot,  in  fact,  was  the  vehicle  that  first 
brought  her  to  Athens,  where  she  had  done 
nothing  but  mischief  ever  since  her  arrival. 
But  these  and  many  other  wonders  must  be 
teft  untolcj  ^  aad  it  is  enough  to  sav  that  Medea, 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  27 

amongsv  a  thousand  other  bad  things,  knew 
how  to  prepare  a  poison  that  was  instantly  fatal 
to  whomsoever  might  so  much  as  touch  it  with 
his  lips. 

So,  when  the  king  asked  what  he  should  do 
with  Theseus,  this  naughty  woman  had  an 
answer  ready  at  her  tongue's  end. 

' '  Leave  that  to  me,  please  your  Majesty, ' '  she 
replied.  "Only  admit  this  evil-minded  young 
man  to  your  presence,  treat  him  civilly,  and 
invite  him  to  drink  a  goblet  of  wine.  Your 
Majesty  is  well  aware  that  I  sometimes  amuse 
myself  with  distilling  very  powerful  medicines. 
Here  is  one  of  them  in  this  small  phial.  As 
to  what  it  is  made  of,  that  is  one  of  my  secrets 
of  state.  Do  but  let  me  put  a  single  drop 
into  the  goblet,  and  let  the  young  man  taste 
it;  and  I  will  answer  for  it,  he  shall  quite  lay 
aside  the  bad  designs  with  which  he  comes 
hither," 

As  she  said  this,  Medea  smiled;  but,  for  all 
her  smiling  face,  she.  meant  nothing  less  than 
to  poison  the  poor  innocent  Theseus,  before  his 
father's  eyes.  And  King  Aegeus,  like  most 
other  kings,  thought  any  punishment  mild 
enough  for  a  person  who  was  accused  of  plot 
ting  against  his  life.  He  therefore  made  little 
qt  uo  objection,  tq  Medea's  scheme^  aud  as  soon 


28  TANGLEWOOD  TALES, 

as  the  poisonous  wine  was  ready,  gave  orders 
that  the  young  stranger  should  be  admitted 
into  his  presence.  The  goblet  was  set  on  a 
table  beside  the  king's  throne;  and  a  fly, 
meaning  just  to  sip  a  little  from  the  brim, 
immediately  tumbled  into  it,  dead.  Observ 
ing  this  Medea  looked  round  at  the  nephews, 
and  smiled  again. 

When  Theseus  was  ushered  into  the  royal 
apartment,  the  only  object  that  he  seemed  to 
behold  was  the  white-bearded  old  king.  There 
he  sat  on  his  magnificent  throne,  a  dazzling 
crown  on  his  head,  and  a  sceptre  in  his  hand. 
His  aspect  was  stately  and  majestic,  although 
his  years  and  infirmities  weighed  heavily  upon 
him,  as  if  each  year  were  a  lump  of  lead,  and 
each  infirmity  a  ponderous  stone,  and  all  were 
bundled  up  together,  and  laid  upon  his  weary 
shoulders.  The  tears  both  of  joy  and  sorrow 
sprang  into  the  young  man's  eyes;  for  he 
thought  how  sad  it  was  to  see  his  dear  father 
so  infirm,  and  how  sweet  it  would  be  to  sup 
port  him  with  his  own  youthful  strength,  and 
to  cheer  him  up  with  the  alacrity  of  his  loving 
spirit.  When  a  son  takes  his  father  into  his 
warm  heart,  it  renews  the  old  man's  youth  in 
a  better  way  than  by  the  heat  of  Medea's  magic 
caldron.  And  this  was  what  Theseus  resolved 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  29 

to  do.  He  could  scarcely  wait  to  see  whether 
King  Aegeus  would  recognize  him,  so  eager 
was  he  to  throw  himself  into  his  arms. 

Advancing  to  the  foot  of  the  throne,  he 
attempted  to  make  a  little  speech,  which  he 
had  been  thinking  about  as  he  came  up  the 
stairs.  But  he  was  almost  choked  by  a  great 
many  tender  feelings  that  gushed  out  of  his 
heart  and  swelled  into  his  throat,  all  struggling 
to  find  utterance  together.  And  therefore, 
unless  he  could  have  laid  his  full,  over-brim 
ming  heart  into  the  king's  hand,  poor  Theseus 
knew  not  what  to  do  or  say.  The  cunning 
Medea  observed  what  was  passing  in  the  young 
man's  mind.  She  was  more  wicked  at  that 
moment  than  ever  she  had  been  before;  for 
(and  it  makes  me  tremble  to  tell  you  of  it)  she 
did  her  worst  to  turn  all  this  unspeakable  love 
with  which  Theseus  was  agitated,  to  his  own 
ruin  and  destruction. 

"Does  your  Majesty  see  his  confusion?"  she 
whispered  in  the  king's  ear.  "He  is  so  con 
scious  of  guilt,  that  he  trembles  and  cannot 
speak.  The  wretch  lives  too  long!  Quick! 
offer  him  the  wine!" 

Now  King  Aegeus  had  been  gazing  earnestly 
at  the  young  stranger,  as  he  drew  near  the 
throne.  There  was  something,  he  knew  not 


30  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

what,  either  in  his  white  brow,  or  in  the  fine 
expression  of  his  mouth,  or  in  his  beautiful  and 
tender  eyes,  that  made  him  instinctively  feel 
as  if  he  had  seen  this  youth  before;  as  if, 
indeed,  he  had  trotted  him  on  his  knee  when  a 
baby,  and  he  beheld  him  growing  to  be  a  stal 
wart  man,  while  he  himself  grew  old.  But 
Medea  guessed  how  the  king  felt,  and  would 
not  suffer  him  to  yield  to  these  natural  sensi 
bilities;  although  they  were  the  voice  of  his 
deepest  heart,  telling  him,  as  plainly  as  it  could 
speak,  that  here  was  his  dear  son,  and  Aethra's 
son,  coming  to  claim  him  for  a  father.  The 
enchantress  again  whispered  in  the  king's  ear, 
and  compelled  him,  by  her  witchcraft,  to  see 
everything  under  a  false  aspect. 

He  made  up  his  mind,  therefore,  to  let 
Theseus  drink  off  the  poisoned  wine. 

4  *  Young  man,"  said  he,  "you  are  welcome! 
I  am  proud  to  show  hospitality  to  so  heroic  a 
youth.  Do  me  the  favor  to  drink  the  contents 
of  this  goblet.  It  is  brimming  over,  as  you 
see,  with  delicious  wine,  such  as  I  bestow  only 
on  those  who  are  worthy  of  it!  None  is  more 
worthy  to  quaff  it  than  yourself!" 

So  saying,  King  Aegeus  took  the  golden 
goblet  from  the  table,  and  was  about  to  offer 
it  to  Theseus.  But  partly  through  his  infirm 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  31 

ities,  and  partly  because  it  seemed  so  f^td  a 
thing  to  take  away  this  young  man's  life,  how 
ever  wicked  he  might  be,  and  partly,  no  ^oubt, 
because  his  heart  was  wiser  than  his  head,  and 
quaked  within  him  at  the  thought  of  what  he 
was  going  to  do, — for  all  these  reasons,  the 
king's  hand  trembled  so  much  that  a  great 
deal  of  the  wine  slopped  over.  In  order  to 
strengthen  his  purpose,  and  fearing  lest  the 
whole  of  the  precious  poison  should  be  wasted, 
one  of  his  nephews  now  whispered  to  him, — 

"Has  your  Majesty  any  doubt  of  this 
stranger's  guilt?  There  is  the  very  sword 
with  which  he  meant  to  slay  you.  How  shnrp, 
and  bright,  and  terrible  it  is!  Quick U-iet 
him  taste  the  wine ;  or  perhaps  he  may  do  the 
deed  even  yet." 

At  these  words,  Aegeus  drove  every  thought 
and  feeling  out  of  his  breast,  except  the  one 
idea  of  how  justly  the  young  man  deserved  to 
be  put  to  death.  He  sat  erect  on  his  throne, 
and  held  out  the  goblet  of  wine  with  a  steady 
hand,  and  bent  on  Theseus  a  frown  of  kingly 
severity ;  for,  after  all,  he  had  too  noble  a  spirit 
to  murder  even  a  treacherous  enemy  with  a 
deceitful  smile  upon  his  face. 

"Drink!"  said  he,  in  the  stern  tone  with 
which  he  was  wont  to  condemn  a  criminal  to 


32  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

be  beheaded.  ''You  have  well  deserved  of  me 
such  wine  as  this ! ' ' 

Theseus  held  out  his  hand  to  take  the  wine. 
But,  before  he  touched  it  King  Aegeus  trembled 
again.  His  eyes  had  fallen  on  the  gold-hilted 
sword  that  hung  at  the  young  man's  side.  He 
drew  back  the  goblet. 

"That  sword!"  he  cried;  "how  came  you 
by  it?" 

"It  was  my  father's  sword,"  replied  Theseus, 
with  a  tremulous  voice.  "These  were  his 
sandals.  My  dear  mother  (her  name  is  Aethra) 
told  me  his  story  while  I  was  yet  a  little  child. 
But  it  is  only  a  month  since  I  grew  strong 
enough  to  lift  the  heavy  stone,  and  take  the 
sword  and  sandals  from  beneath  it,  and  come 
to  Athens  to  seek  my  father." 

"My  son!  my  son!"  cried  King  Aegeus, 
flinging  away  the  fatal  goblet  and  tottering 
down  from  the  throne  to  fall  into  the  arms  of 
Theseus.  "Yes,  these  are  Aethra's  eyes.  It 
is  my  son. " 

I  have  quite  forgotten  what  became  of  the 
king's  nephews.  But  when  the  wicked  Medea 
saw  this  new  turn  of  affairs,  she  hurried  out 
of  the  room,  and  going  to  her  private  chamber 
lost  no  time  in  setting  her  enchantments  at 
work.  In  a  few  moments,  she  heard  a  great 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  33 

noise  of  hissing  snakes  outside  of  the  chamber 
window;  and,  behold!  there  was  her  fiery 
chariot,  and  four  huge  winged  serpents,  wrig 
gling  and  twisting  in  the  air,  flourishing  their 
tails  higher  than  the  top  of  the  palace,  and  all 
ready  to  set  off  on  an  aerial  journey.  Medea 
stayed  only  long  enough  to  take  her  son  with 
her,  and  to  steal  the  crown  jewels,  together 
with  the  king's  best  robes,  and  whatever  ather 
valuable  things  she  could  lay  her  hands  on; 
and  getting  into  the  chariot  she  whipped  up 
the  snakes  and  ascended  high  over  the  city. 

The  king,  hearing  the  hiss*  of  the  serpents, 
scrambled  as  fast  as  he  could  to  the  window, 
and  bawled  out  to  the  abominable  enchantress 
never  to  come  back.  The  whole  people  of 
Athens,  too,  who  had  run  out  of  doors  to  see 
this  wonderful  spectacle,  set  up  a  shout  of  joy 
at  the  prospect  of  getting  rid  of  her.  Medea, 
almost  bursting  with  rage,  uttered  precisely 
such  a  hiss  as  one  of  her  own  snakes,  only 
ten  times  more  venomous  and  spiteful;  and 
glaring  fiercely  out  of  the  blaze  of  the  chariot, 
she  shook  her  hands  over  the  multitude  below, 
as  if  she  were  scattering  a  million  curses  among 
them.  In  so  doing,  however,  she  unintention 
ally  let  fall  about  five  hundred  diamonds  of 
the  first  water,  together  with  a  thousand  great 

8    Tanglewood  Tales 


34  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

pearls,  and  two  thousand  emeralds,  rubies, 
sapphires,  opals  and  topazes,  to  which  she  had 
helped  herself  out  of  the  king's  strong-box. 
All  these  came  pelting  down,  like  a  shower  of 
many-colored  hailstones,  upon  the  heads  of 
grown  people  and  children,  who  forthwith 
gathered  them  up  and  carried  them  back  to 
the  palace.  But  King  Aegeus  told  them  that 
they  were  welcome  to  the  whole,  and  to  twice 
as  many  more,  if  he  had  them,  for  the  sake  of 
his  delight  at  finding  his  son,  and  losing  the 
wicked  Medea.  And,  indeed,  if  you  had  seen 
how  hateful  was  her  last  look,  as  the  flaming 
chariot  flew  upward,  you  would  not  have  won 
dered  that  both  king  and  people  should  think 
her  departure  a  good  riddance. 

And  now  Prince  Theseus  was  taken  into 
great  favor  by  his  royal  father.  The  old  king 
was  never  weary  of  having  him  sit  beside  him 
on  his  throne  (which  was  quite  wide  enough 
for  two)  and  of  hearing  him  tell  about  his  dear 
mother,  and  his  childhood,  and  his  many  boy 
ish  efforts  to  lift  the  ponderous  stone.  The 
seus,  however,  was  much  too  brave  and  active 
a  young  man  to  be  willing  to  spend  all  his 
time  in  relating  things  which  had  already  hap 
pened.  His  ambition  was  to  perform  other 
and  more  heroic  deeds,  which  should  be  better 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  35 

worth  telling  in  prose  and  verse.  Nor  had  he 
been  long  in  Athens  before  he  caught  and 
chained  a  terrible  mad  bull,  and  made  a  public 
show  of  him,  greatly  to  the  wonder  and  admira 
tion  of  good  King  Aegeus  and  his  subjects. 
But  pretty  soon  he  undertook  an  affair  that 
made  all  his  foregone  adventures  seem  like 
mere  boy's  play.  The  occasion  of  it  was  as 
follows: 

One  morning,  when  Prince  Theseus  awoke 
he  fancied  that  he  must  have  had  a  very  sor 
rowful  dream,  and  that  it  was  still  running  in 
his  mind,  even  now  that  his  eyes  were  open. 
For  it  appeared  as  if  the  air  was  full  of  a 
melancholy  wail ;  and  when  he  listened  more 
attentively,  he  could  hear  sobs  and  groans  and 
screams  of  woe,  mingled  with  deep,  quiet 
sighs,  which  came  from  the  king's  palace,  and 
from  the  streets,  and  from  the  temples,  and 
from  every  habitation  in  the  city.  And  all 
these  mournful  noises,  issuing  out  of  thou 
sands  of  separate  hearts,  united  themselves 
into  one  great  sound  of  affliction,  which  had 
startled  Theseus  from  slumber.  He  put  on 
his  clothes  as  quickly  as  he  could  (not  forget 
ting  his  sandals  and  gold-hilted  sword),  and, 
hastening  to  the  king,  inquired  what  it  all 
meant. 


36  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

"Alas!  my  son,"  quoth  King  Aegeus,  heav 
ing  a  long  sigh,  "here  is  a  very  lamentable 
matter  in  hand!  This  is  the  wofullest  anni 
versary  in  the  whole  year.  It  is  the  day  when 
we  annually  draw  lots  to  see  which  of  the 
youths  and  maidens  of  Athens  shall  go  to  be 
devoured  by  the  horrible  Minotaur!" 

"The  Minotaur!"  exclaimed  Prince  Theseus; 
and,  like  a  brave  young  prince  as  he  was,  he  put 
his  hand  to  the  hilt  of  his  sword.  "What  kind 
of  a  monster  may  that  be?  Is  it  not  possible, 
at  the  risk  of  one's  life,  to  slay  him?" 

But  King  Aegeus  shook  his  venerable  head, 
and  to  convince  Theseus  that  it  was  quite  a 
hopeless  case,  he  gave  him  an  explanation  of 
the  whole  affair.  It  seems  that  in  the  island 
of  Crete  there  lived  a  certain  dreadful  monster, 
called  a  Minotaur,  shaped  partly  like  a  man 
and  partly  like  a  bull,  and  was  altogether  such 
a  hideous  sort  of  creature  that  it  is  really  dis 
agreeable  to  think  of  him.  If  he  were 
suffered  to  exist  at  all,  it  should  have  been  on 
some  desert  island,  or  in  the  duskiness  of 
some  deep  cavern,  where  nobody  would  ever 
be  tormented  by  his  abominable  aspect.  But 
King  Minos,  who  reigned  over  Crete,  laid  out 
a  vast  deal  of  money  in  building  a  habitation 
for  the  Minotaur,  and  took  great  care  of  his 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  37 

health  and  comfort,  merely  for  mischief 'ssakec 
A  few  years  before  this  time,  there  had  been 
a  war  between  the  city  of  Athens  and  the 
island  of  Crete,  in  which  the  Athenians  were 
beaten  and  compelled  to  beg  for  peace.  No 
peace  could  they  obtain,  however,  except  on 
condition  that  they  should  send  seven  young 
men  and  seven  maidens,  every  year,  to  be 
devoured  by  the  pet  monster  of  the  cruel  King 
Minos.  For  three  years  past,  this  grievous 
calamity  had  been  borne.  And  the  sobs,  and 
groans,  and  shrieks,  with  which  the  city  was 
now  filled,  were  caused  by  the  people's  woe, 
because  the  fatal  day  had  come  again,  when 
the  fourteen  victims  were  to  be  chosen  by  lot ; 
and  the  old  people  feared  lest  their  sons  or 
daughters  might  be  taken,  and  the  youths  and 
damsels  dreaded  lest  they  themselves  might  be 
destined  to  glut  the  ravenous  maw  of  that  de 
testable  man-brute. 

But  when  Theseus  heard  the  story,  he 
straightened  himself  up,  so  that  he  seemed 
taller  than  ever  before ;  and  as  for  his  face,  it 
was  indignant,  despiteful,  bold,  tender,  and 
compassionate,  all  in  one  look. 

4 'Let  the  people  of  Athens,  this  year,  draw 
lots  for  only  six  young  men  instead  of  seven/* 


38  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

said  he.  "I  will  myself  be  the  seventh;  and 
yet  the  Minotaur  devour  me,  if  he  can!" 

44O,  my  dear  son,"  cried  King  Aegeus,  "why 
should  you  expose  yourself  to  this  horrible 
fate?  You  are  a  royal  prince,  and  have  a  right 
to  hold  yourself  above  the  destinies  of  common 
men." 

44  It  is  because  I  am  a  prince,  your  son,  and 
the  rightful  heir  of  your  kingdom,  that  I  freely 
take  upon  me  the  calamity  of  your  subjects," 
answered  Theseus.  44And  you,  my  father, 
being  king  over  this  people,  and  answerable  to 
Heaven  for  their  welfare,  are  bound  to  sacri 
fice  what  is  dearest  to  you,  rather  than  that  the 
son  or  daughter  of  the  poorest  citizen  should 
come  to  any  harm." 

The  old  king  shed  tears,  and  besought 
Theseus  not  to  leave  him  desolate  in  his  old 
age,  more  especially  as  he  had  but  just  begun 
to  know  the  happiness  of  possessing  a  good 
and  valiant  son.  Theseus,  however,  felt  that 
he  was  in  the  right,  and  therefore  would  not 
give  up  his  resolution.  But  he  assured  his 
father  that  he  did  not  intend  to  be  eaten  up, 
unresistingly,  like  a  sheep,  and  that,  if  the 
Minotaur  devoured  him,  it  should  not  be  with 
out  a  battle  for  his  dinner.  And  finally,  since 
he  could  not  help  it,  King  Aegeus  consented 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  39 

to  let  him  go.  So  a  vessel  was  got  ready,  and 
rigged  with  black  sails ;  and  Theseus,  with  six 
other  young  men,  and  seven  tender  and 
beautiful  damsels,  came  down  to  the  harbor 
to  embark.  A  sorrowful  multitude  accom 
panied  them  to  the  shore.  There  was  the  poor 
old  king,  too,  leaning  on  his  son's  arm,  and 
looking  as  if  his  single  heart  held  all  the  grief 
of  Athens. 

Just  as  Prince  Theseus  was  going  on  board, 
his  father  bethought  himself  of  one  last  word 
to  say. 

4 'My  beloved  son,"  said  he,  grasping  the 
prince's  hand,  "you  observe  that  the  sails  of 
this  vessel  are  black;  as  indeed  they  ought  to 
be,  since  it  goes  upon  a  voyage  of  sorrow  and 
despair.  Now,  being  weighed  down  with 
infirmities,  I  know  not  whether  I  can  survive 
till  the  vessel  shall  return.  But,  as  long  as  I 
do  live,  I  shall  creep  daily  to  the  top  of  yonder 
cliff,  to  watch  if  there  be  a  sail  upon  the  sea. 
And,  dearest  Theseus,  if  by  some  happy 
chance  you  should  escape  the  jaws  of  the  Mino 
taur,  then  tear  down  those  dismal  sails,  and 
hoist  others  that  shall  be  bright  as  the  sunshine. 
Beholding  them  on  the  horizon,  myself  and  all 
the  people  will  know  that  you  are  coming  back 


40  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

victorious,  and  will  welcome  you  with  such  a 
festal  uproar  as  Athens  never  heard  before." 

Theseus  promised  that  he  would  do  so. 
Then,  going  on  board,  the  mariners  trimmed 
the  vessel's  black  sails  to  the  wind,  which 
blew  faintly  off  the  shore,  being  pretty  much 
made  up  of  the  sighs  that  everybody  kept 
pouring  forth  on  this  melancholy  occasion. 
Bat  by  and  by,  when  they  got  fairly  out  to  sea, 
there  came  a  stiff  breeze  from  the  northwest, 
and  drove  them  along  as  merrily  over  the 
white-capped  waves  as  if  they  had  been  going 
on  the  most  delightful  errand  imaginable. 
And  though  it  was  a  sad  business  enough,  I 
rather  questioned  whether  fourteen  young 
people,  without  any  old  persons  to  keep  them 
in  order,  could  continue  to  spend  the  whole 
time  of  the  voyage  in  being  miserable.  There 
had  been  some  few  dances  upon  the  undulat 
ing  deck,  I  suspect,  and  some  hearty  bursts  of 
laughter,  and  other  such  unseasonable  merri 
ment  among  the  victims,  before  the  high,  blue 
mountains  of  Crete  began  to  show  themselves 
among  the  far-off  clouds.  That  sight,  to  be 
sure,  made  them  all  very  grave  again. 

Theseus  stood  among  the  sailors,  gazing 
eagerly  towards  the  land;  although,  as  yet,  it 
seemed  hardly  more  substantial  than  the 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  41 

clouds,  amidst  which  the  mountains  were  loom 
ing  up.  Once  or  twice,  he  fancied  that  he  saw 
a  glare  of  some  bright  object,  a  long  way  off, 
flinging  a  gleam  across  the  waves. 

4 'Did  you  see  that  flash  of  light?"  he  inquired 
of  the  master  of  the  vessel. 

44 No,  prince;  but  I  have  seen  it  before," 
answered  the  master.  "It  came  from  Talus,  I 
suppose." 

As  the  breeze  came  fresher  just  then,  the 
master  was  busy  with  trimming  his  sails,  and 
had  no  more  time  to  answer  questions.  But 
while  the  vessel  flew  faster  and  faster  towards 
Crete,  Theseus  was  astonished  to  behold  a 
human  figure,  gigantic  in  size,  which  appeared 
to  be  striding  with  a  measured  movement, 
along  the  margin  of  the  island.  It  stepped 
from  cliff  to  cliff,  and  sometimes  from  one 
headland  to  another,  while  the  sea  foamed  and 
thundered  on  the  shore  beneath,  and  dashed 
its  jets  of  spray  over  the  giant's  feet.  What 
was  still  more  remarkable,  whenever  the  sun 
shone  on  this  huge  figure,  it  flickered  and 
glimmered;  its  vast  countenance,  too,  had  a 
metallic  lustre,  and  threw  great  flashes  of 
splendor  through  the  air.  The  folds  of  its  gar 
ments,  moreover,  instead  of  waving  in  the 


42  TANGLEWOOD   TALES, 

wind,  fell  heavily  over  its  limbs,  as  if  woven 
of  some  kind  of  metal. 

The  nigher  the  vessel  came,  the  more 
Theseus  wondered  what  this  immense  giant 
could  be,  and  whether  it  actually  had  life  or 
no.  For  though  it  walked,  and  made  other 
life-like  motions,  there  yet  was  a  kind  of  jerk 
in  its  gait,  which,  together  with  its  brazen 
aspect,  caused  the  young  prince  to  suspect 
that  it  was  no  true  giant,  but  only  a  wonderful 
piece  of  machinery.  The  figure  looked  all  the 
more  terrible  because  it  carried  an  enormous 
brass  club  on  its  shoulder. 

"What  is  this  wonder?"  Theseus  asked  of 
the  master  of  the  vessel,  who  was  now  at 
leisure  to  answer  him. 

44 It  is  Talus,  the  Man  of  Brass,"  said  the 
master. 

14  And  is  he  a  live  giant,  or  a  brazen  image?" 
asked  Theseus. 

4 'That,  truly,"  replied  the  master,  <4is  the 
point  which  has  always  perplexed  me.  Some 
say,  indeed,  that  this  Talus  was  hammered  out 
for  King  Minos  by  Vulcan  himself,  the  skillfull- 
est  of  all  workers  in  metal.  But  who  ever  saw 
a  brazen  image  that  had  sense  enough  to  walk 
round  an  island  three  times  a  day,  as  this  giant 
walks  round  the  island  of  Crete,  challenging 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  43 

every  vessel  that  conies  nigh  the  shore?  And, 
on  the  other  hand,  what  living  thing,  unless 
his  sinews  were  made  of  brass,  would  not  be 
weary  of  marching  eighteen  hundred  miles  in 
the  twenty-four  hours,  as  Talus  does  without 
ever  sitting  down  to  rest?  He  is  a  puzzler, 
take  him  how  you  will." 

Still  the  vessel  went  bounding  onward ;  and 
now  Theseus  could  hear  the  brazen  clangor 
of  the  giant's  footsteps,  as  he  trod  heavily 
upon  the  sea-beaten  rocks,  some  of  which  were 
seen  to  crack  and  crumble  into  the  foamy 
waves  beneath  his  weight.  As  they 
approached  the  entrance  of  the  port  the  giant 
straddled  clear  across  it,  with  a  foot  firmly 
planted  on  each  headland,  and  uplifting  his 
club  to  such  a  height  that  its  butt-end  was  hid 
den  in  a  cloud,  he  stood  in  that  formidable 
posture,  with  the  sun  gleaming  all  over  his 
metallic  surface.  There  seemed  nothing  else 
to  be  expected  but  that,  the  next  moment,  he 
would  fetch  his  great  club  down,  slam  bang, 
and  smash  the  vessel  into  a  thousand  pieces, 
without  heeding  how  many  innocent  people 
he  might  destroy;  for  there  is  seldom  any 
mercy  in  a  giant,  you  know,  and  quite  as  little 
in  a  piece  of  brass  clock-work.  But  just  then 
when  Theseus  and  his  companions  thought 


44  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

the  blow  was  coming1,  the  brazen  lips  unclosed 
themselves,  and  the  figure  spoke. 

44 Whence  come  you,  strangers?" 

And  when  the  ringing  voice  ceased,  there 
was  just  such  a  reverberation  as  you  may 
have  heard  within  a  great  church  bell,  for  a 
moment  or  two  after  the  stroke  of  the  ham 
mer. 

4 'From  Athens!"  shouted  the  master  in  re 
ply. 

44 On  what  errand?"  thundered  the  Man  of 
Brass. 

And  he  whirled  his  club  aloft  more  threat 
eningly  than  ever,  as  if  he  were  about  to  smite 
them  with  a  thunder- stroke  right  amidships, 
because  Athens,  so  little  while  ago,  had  been 
at  war  with  Crete. 

44  We  bring  the  seven  youths  and  the  seven 
maidens,"  answered  the  master,  44to  be  de 
voured  by  the  Minotaur!" 

"Pass!"  cried  the  brazen  giant. 

That  one  loud  word  rolled  all  about  the  sky, 
while  again  there  was  a  booming  reverberation 
within  the  figure's  breast.  The  vessel  glided 
between  the  headlands  of  the  port,  and  the 
giant  resumed  his  march.  In  a  few  moments, 
this  wondrous  sentinel,  was  far  away,  flashing 
in  the  distant  sunshine,  and  revolving  with 


\ 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  45 

immense  strides  around  the  island  of  Crete,  as 
it  was  his  never-ceasing  task  to  do. 

No  sooner  had  they  entered  the  harbor 
than  a  party  of  the  guards  of  King  Minos  came 
down  to  the  waterside,  and  took  charge  of  the 
fourteen  young  men  and  damsels.  Surrounded 
by  these  armed  warriors,  Prince  Theseus  and 
his  companions  were  led  to  the  king's  palace, 
and  ushered  into  his  presence.  Now,  Minos 
was  a  stern  and  pitiless  king.  If  the  figure 
that  guarded  Crete  was  made  of  brass,  then 
the  monarch,  who  ruled  over  it,  might  be 
thought  to  have  a  still  harder  metal  in  his 
breast,  and  might  have  been  called  a  man  of 
iron.  He  bent  his  shaggy  brows  upon  the 
poor  Athenian  victims.  Any  other  mortal, 
beholding  their  fresh  and  tender  beauty,  and 
their  innocent  looks,  would  have  felt  himself 
sitting  on  thorns  until  he  had  made  every 
soul  of  them  happy,  by  bidding  them  go  as 
free  as  the  summer  wind.  But  this  immiti 
gable  Minos  cared  only  to  examine  whether 
they  were  plump  enough  to  satisfy  the  Mino 
taur's  appetite.  For  my  part,  I  wish  he  him 
self  had  been  the  only  victim ;  and  the  monster 
would  have  found  him  a  pretty  tough  one. 

One  after  another,  King  Minos  called  these 
pale,  frightened  youths  and  sobbing  maidens 


46  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

to  his  footstool,  gave  them  each  a  poke  in  the 
ribs  with  his  sceptre  (to  try  whether  they  were 
in  good  flesh  or  no),  and  dismissed  them  with 
a  nod  to  his  guards.  But  when  his  eyes  rested 
on  Theseus,  the  king  looked  at  him  more  atten 
tively,  because  his  face  was  calm  and  brave. 

44 Young  man,"  asked  he,  with  his  stern 
voice,  "are  you  not  appalled  at  the  certainty 
of  being  devoured  by  this  terrible  Mino 
taur?" 

"I  have  offered  my  life  in  a  good  cause," 
answered  Theseus,  "and  therefore  I  give  it 
freely  and  gladly.  But  thou,  King  Minos,  art 
thou  not  thyself  appalled,  who.  year  after  year, 
hast  perpetrated  this  dreadful  wrong,  by  giv 
ing  seven  innocent  youths  and  as  many 
maidens  to  be  devoured  by  a  monster?  Dost 
thou  not  tremble,  wicked  king,  to  turn  thine 
eyes  inward  on  thine  own  heart?  Sitting  there 
on  the  golden  throne,  and  in  thy  robes  of 
majesty,  I  tell  thee  to  thy  face,  King  Minos, 
thou  art  a  more  hideous  monster  than  the 
Minotaur  himself ! ' ' 

"Aha!  do  you  think  me  so?"  cried  the  king, 
laughing  in  his  cruel  way.  "To-morrow,  at 
breakfast-time,  you  shall  have  an  opportunity 
of  judging  which  is  the  greater  monster,  the 
Minotaur  or  the  king!  Take  them  away, 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  47 

guards ;  and  let  this  free  -  spoken  youth  be 
the  Minotaur's  first  morsel!" 

Near  the  king's  throne  (though  I  had  no 
time  to  tell  you  so  before)  stood  his  daughter 
Ariadne.  She  was  a  beautiful  and  tender 
hearted  maiden,  and  looked  at  these  poor 
doomed  captives  with  very  different  feelings 
from  those  of  the  iron-breasted  King  Minos. 
She  really  wept,  indeed,  at  the  idea  of  how 
much  human  happiness  would  be  needlessly 
thrown  away,  by  giving  so  many  young 
people,  in  the  first  bloom  and  rose-blossom  of 
their  lives,  to  be  eaten  up  by  a  creature  who, 
no  doubt,  would  have  preferred  a  fat  ox,  or 
even  a  large  pig,  to  the  plumpest  of  them. 
And  when  she  beheld  the  brave,  spirited  figure 
of  Prince  Theseus  bearing  himself  so  calmly 
in  his  terrible  peril,  she  grew  a  hundred  times 
more  pitiful  than  before.  As  the  guards  were 
taking  him  away,  she  flung  herself  at  the 
king's  feet,  and  besought  him  to  set  all  the 
captives  free,  and  especially  this  one  young 
man. 

" Peace,  foolish  girl!"  answered  King  Minos. 
"What  hast  thou  to  do  with  an  affair  like 
this?  It  is  a  matter  of  state  policy,  and 
therefore  quite  beyond  thy  weak  comprehen 
sion.  Go  water  thy  flowers,  and  think  no  more 


48  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

of  these  Athenian  caitiffs,  whom  the  Minotaur 
shall  as  certainly  eat  up  for  breakfast  as  I  will 
eat  a  partridge  for  my  supper. ' ' 

So  saying,  the  king  looked  cruel  enough  to 
devour  Theseus  and  all  the  rest  of  the  cap 
tives,  himself,  had  there  been  no  Minotaur  to 
save  him  the  trouble.  As  he  would  hear  not 
another  word  in  their  favor,  the  prisoners 
were  now  led  away,  and  clapped  into  a  dun 
geon,  where  the  jailer  advised  them  to  go  to 
sleep  as  soon  as  possible,  because  the  Mino 
taur  was  in  the  habit  of  calling  for  breakfast 
early.  The  seven  maidens  and  six  of  the 
young  men  soon  sobbed  themselves  to  slum 
ber!  But  Theseus  was  not  like  them.  He 
felt  conscious  that  he  was  wiser  and  braver 
and  stronger  than  his  companions,  and  that 
therefore  he  had  the  responsibility  of  all  their 
lives  upon  him,  and  must  consider  whether 
there  was  no  way  to  save  them,  even  in  this 
last  extremity.  So  he  kept  himself  awake,  and 
paced  to  and  fro  across  the  gloomy  dungeon  in 
which  they  were  shut  up. 

Just  before  midnight,  the  door  was  softly 
unbarred,  and  the  gentle  Ariadne  showed  her 
self,  with  a  torch  in  her  hand. 

"Are  you  awake,  Prince  Theseus?"  she 
whispered. 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  49 

"Yes,"  answered  Theseus.  "With  so  little 
time  to  live,  I  do  not  choose  to  waste  any  of 
it  in  sleep." 

"Then  follow  me,"  said  Ariadne,  "and  tread 
softly." 

What  had  become  of  the  jailer  and  the 
guards,  Theseus  never  knew.  But  however 
that  might  be,  Ariadne  opened  all  the  doors 
and  led  him  forth  from  the  darksome  prison 
into  the  pleasant  moonlight. 

"Theseus,"  said  the  maiden,  "you  can  now 
get  on  board  your  vessel,  and  sail  away  for 
Athens. ' ' 

"No,"  answered  the  young  man;  "I  will 
never  leave  Crete  unless  I  can  first  slay  the 
Minotaur,  and  save  my  poor  companions,  and 
deliver  Athens  from  this  cruel  tribute." 

"I  knew  that  this  would  be  your  resolution," 
said  Ariadne.  "Come,  then,  with  me,  brave 
Theseus.  Here  is  your  own  sword,  which  the 
guards  deprived  you  of.  You  will  need  it ; 
and  pray  Heaven  you  may  use  it  well." 

Then  she  led  Theseus  along  by  the  hand  un 
til  they  came  to  a  dark,  shadowy  grove,  where 
the  moonlight  wasted  itself  on  the  tops  of  the 
trees,  without  shedding  hardly  so  much  as  a 
glimmering  beam  upon  their  pathway.  After 
going  a  good  way  through  this  obscurity,  they 

4   Tangle  wood  Tales 


50  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

reached  a  high,  marble  wall,  which  was  over 
grown  with  creeping  plants,  that  made  it 
shaggy  with  their  verdure.  The  wall  seemed 
to  have  no  door,  nor  any  windows,  but  rose 
up,  lofty,  and  massive,  and  mysterious,  and 
was  neither  to  be  clambered  over,  nor,  so  far  as 
Theseus  could  perceive,  to  be  passed  through 
Nevertheless,  Ariadne  did  but  press  one  of 
her  soft  little  ringers  against  a  particular  block 
of  marble,  and,  though  it  looked  as  solid  as 
any  other  part  of  the  wall,  it  yielded  to  her 
touch,  disclosing  an  entrance  just  wide  enough 
to  admit  them.  They  crept  through,  and  the 
marble  stone  swung  back  into  its  place. 

44 We  are  now,"  said  Ariadne,  "in  the  famous 
labyrinth  which  Daedalus  built  before  he  made 
himself  a  pair  of  wings,  and  flew  away  from  our 
island  like  a  bird.  That  Daedalus  was  a  vrey 
cunning  workman ;  but  of  all  his  artful  contri 
vances,  this  labyrinth  is  the  most  wondrous. 
Were  we  to  take  but  a  few  steps  from  the  door 
way,  we  might  wander  about  all  our  lifetime, 
and  never  find  it  again.  Yet  in  the  very  cen 
tre  of  this  labyrinth  is  the  Minotaur;  and, 
Theseus,  you  must  go  thither  to  seek  him." 

"But  how  shall  I  ever  find  him,"  asked 
Theseus,  "if  the  labyrinth  so  bewilders  me  as 
you  say  it  will?" 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES,  51 

Just  as  he  spoke  they  heard  a  rough  and 
very  disagreeable  roar,  which  greatly  resem 
bled  the  lowing  of  a  fierce  bull,  but  yet  had 
some  sort  of  sound  like  a  human  voice. 
Theseus  even  fancied  a  rude  articulation  in  it, 
as  if  the  creature  that  uttered  it  were  trying 
to  shape  his  coarse  breath  into  words.  It  was 
at  some  distance,  however,  and  he  really  could 
not  tell  whether  it  sounded  most  like  a  bull's 
roar  or  a  man's  harsh  voice. 

4 'That  is  the  Minotaur's  noise,"  whispered 
Ariadne,  closely  grasping  the  hand  of 
Theseus,  and  pressing  one  of  her  own  hands 
to  her  heart,  which  was  all  in  a  tremble. 
44 You  must  follow  that  sound  through  the 
windings  of  the  labyrinth,  and,  by  and  by,  you 
will  find  him.  Stay!  take  the  end  of  this 
silken  string;  I  will  hold  the  other  end;  and 
then,  if  you  win  the  victory,  it  will  lead  you 
again  to  this  spot.  Farewell,  brave  Theseus. ' ' 

So  the  young  man  took  the  end  of  the  silken 
string  in  his  left  hand,  and  his  gold-hilted 
sword,  ready  drawn  from  its  scabbard,  in  the 
other,  and  trod  boldly  into  the  inscrutable  laby 
rinth.  How  this  labyrinth  was  built  is  more 
than  I  can  tell  you.  But  so  cunningly  con 
trived  a  mizmaze  was  never  seen  in  the  world 
before  nor  since.  There  can  be  nothing  else 


52  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

so  intricate,  unless  it  were  the  brain  of  a  man 
like  Daedalus,  who  planned  it,  or  the  heart  of 
any  ordinary  man;  which  last,  to  be  sure,  is 
ten  times  as  great  a  mystery  as  the  labyrinth 
of  Crete.  Theseus  had  not  taken  five  steps 
before  he  lost  sight  of  Ariadne;  and  in  five 
more  his  head  was  growing  dizzy.  But  still 
he  went  on,  now  creeping  through  a  low  arch, 
now  ascending  a  flight  of  steps,  now  in  one 
crooked  passage  and  now  in  another,  with  here 
a  door  opening  before  him,  and  there  one  bang 
ing  behind,  until  it  really  seemed  as  if  the  walls 
spun  round,  and  whirled  him  round  along  with 
them.  And  all  the  while,  through  these  hollow 
avenues,  now  nearer,  now  farther  off  again, 
resounded  the  cry  of  the  Minotaur;  and  the 
sound  was  so  fierce,  so  cruel,  so  ugly ;  so  like  a 
bull's  roar,  and  withal  so  like  a  human  voice, 
and  yet  like  neither  of  them,  that  the  brave 
heart  of  Theseus  grew  sterner  and  angrier  at 
every  step ;  for  he  felt  it  an  insult  to  the  moon 
and  sky,  and  to  our  affectionate  and  simple 
Mother  Earth,  that  such  a  monster  should  have 
the  audacity  to  exist. 

As  he  passed  onward,  the  clouds  gathered 
over  the  moon,  and  the  labyrinth  grew  so  dusky 
that  Theseus  could  no  longer  discern  the 
bewilderment  through  which  he  was  passing. 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  53 

lie  would  have  felt  quite  lost  and  utterly  hope 
less  of  ever  again  walking  in  a  straight  path, 
i  f ,  every  little  while,  he  had  not  been  conscious 
uf  a  gentle  twitch  at  the  silken  cord.  Then  he 
knew  that  the  tender  -  hearted  Ariadne  was 
still  holding  the  other  end,  and  that  she  was 
fearing  for  him,  and  hoping  for  him,  and  giv 
ing  him  just  as  much  of  her  sympathy  as  if  she 
were  close  by  his  side.  Oh,  indeed,  I  can 
assure  you,  there  was  a  vast  deal  of  human 
sympathy  running  along  that  slender  thread  of 
silk.  But  still  he  followed  the  dreadful  roar 
of  the  Minotaur,  which  now  grew  louder  and 
louder;  and  finally  so  very  loud  that  Theseus 
fully  expected  to  come  close  upon  him  at  every 
new  zigzag  and  wriggle  of  the  path.  And  at 
last,  in  an  open  space,  at  the  very  center  of  the 
labyrinth,  he  did  discern  the  hideous  creature. 
Sure  enough,  what  an  ugly  monster  it  was! 
Only  his  horned  head  belonged  to  a  bull ;  and 
yet,  somehow  or  other,  he  looked  like  a  bull 
all  over,  preposterously  waddling  on  his  hind 
legs;  or,  if  you  happened  to  view  him  in 
another  way,  he  seemed  wholly  a  man,  and  all 
the  more  monstrous  for  being  so.  And  there 
he  was,  the  wretched  thing,  with  no  society, 
no  companion,  no  kind  of  a  mate,  living  only 
to  do  mischief,  and  incapable  of  knowing  what 


54  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

affection  means.  Theseus  hated  him,  and 
shuddered  at  him,  yet  could  not  but  be  sensible 
of  some  sort  of  pity;  and  all  the  more,  the 
uglier  and  more  destestable  the  creature  was. 
For  he  kept  striding  to  and  fro  in  a  solitary 
frenzy  of  rage,  continually  emitting  a  hoarse 
roar,  which  was  oddly  mixed  up  with  half- 
shaped  words;  and,  after  listening  awhile, 
Theseus  understood  that  the  "Minotaur  was 
saying  to  himself  how  miserable  he  was  and 
how  hungry,  and  how  he  hated  everybody,  and 
how  he  longed  to  eat  up  the  human  race  alive. 

Ah,  the  bull-headed  villain!  And  O,  my 
good  little  people,  you  will  perhaps  see,  one  of 
these  days,  as  I  do  now,  that  every  human 
being  who  suffers  anything  evil  to  get  into  his 
nature,  or  to  remain  there,  is  a  kind  of  Mino 
taur,  an  enemy  of  his  fellow-creatures,  and 
separated  from  all  good  companionship,  as 
this  poor  monster  was. 

Was  Theseus  afraid !  By  no  means,  my  dear 
auditors.  What !  a  hero  like  Theseus  afraid ! 
Not  had  the  Minotaur  had  twenty  bull  heads 
instead  of  one.  Bold  as  he  was,  however,  I 
rather  fancy  that  it  strengthened  his  valiant 
heart,  just  at  this  crisis,  to  feel  a  tremulous 
twitch  at  the  silken  cord,  which  he  was  still 
holding  in  his  left  hand.  It  was  as  if  Ariadne 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  55 

was  giving  him  all  her  might  and  courage; 
and,  much  as  he  already  had,  and  little  as  she 
had  to  give,  it  made  his  own  seem  t\^ice  as 
much.  And  to  confess  the  honest  truth,  he 
needed  the  whole;  for  now  the  Minotaur, 
turning  suddenly  about,  caught  sight  of 
Theseus,  and  instantly  lowered  his  horribly 
sharp  horns,  exactly  as  a  mad  bull  does  when 
he  means  to  rush  against  an  enemy.  At  the 
same  time  he  belched  forth  a  tremendous  roar, 
in  which  there  was  something  like  the  words  of 
human  language,  but  all  disjointed  and  shaken 
to  pieces  by  passing  through  the  gullet  of  a 
miserably  enraged  brute. 

Theseus  could  only  guess  what  the  creature 
intended  to  say,  and  that  rather  by  his  gestures 
than  his  words;  for  the  Minotaur's  horns  were 
sharper  than  his  wits,  and  of  a  great  deal  more 
service  to  him  than  his  tongue.  But  probably 
this  was  the  sense  of  what  he  uttered: — 

"Ah,  wretch  of  a  human  being!  I'll  stick 
my  horns  through  you,  and  toss  you  fifty  feet 
high,  and  eat  you  up  the  moment  you  come 
down. " 

"Come  on,  then,  and  try  it !"  was  all  that 
Theseus  deigned  to  reply;  for  he  was  far  too 
magnanimous  to  assault  his  enemy  with  inso 
lent  language. 


56  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

Without  more  words  on  either  side,  there 
ensued  the  most  awful  fight  between  Theseus 
and  the  Minotaur  that  ever  happened  beneath 
the  sun  or  moon.  I  really  know  not  how  it 
might  have  turned  out,  if  the  monster,  in  his 
first  headlong  rush  against  Theseus,  had  not 
missed  him  by  a  hair's-breadth,  and  broken  one 
of  his  horns  short  off  against  the  stone  wall. 
On  this  mishap,  he  bellowed  so  intolerably  that 
a  part  of  the  labyrinth  tumbled  down,  and  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Crete  mistook  the  noise  for 
an  uncommonly  heavy  thunder  storm.  Smart 
ing  with  the  pain,  he  galloped  around  the  open 
space  in  so  ridiculous  a  way  that  Theseus 
laughed  at  it,  long  aftemards,  though  not  pre 
cisely  at  the  moment.  After  this,  the  two  an 
tagonists  stood  valiantly  up  to  one  another, 
and  fought  sword  to  horn  for  a  long  while.  At 
last,  the  Minotaur  made  a  run  at  Theseus, 
grazed  his  left  side  with  his  horn,  and  flung 
him  down;  and  thinking  that  he  had  stabbed 
him  to  the  heart,  he  cut  a  great  caper  in  the  air, 
opened  his  bull  mouth  from  ear  to  ear,  and 
prepared  to  snap  his  head  off.  But  Theseus 
by  this  time  had  leaped  up,  and  caught  the 
monster  off  his  guard.  Fetching  his  sword 
stroke  at  him  with  all  his  force,  he  hit  him 
fair  upon  the  neck,  and  made  his  bull  head 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  57 

skip  six  yards  from  his  human  body,  which  fell 
down  flat  upon  the  ground. 

So  now  the  battle  was  ended.  Immediately 
the  moon  shone  out  as  brightly  as  if  all  the 
troubles  of  the  world,  and  all  the  wickedness 
and  the  ugliness  that  infest  human  life,  were 
past  and  gone  forever.  And  Theseus,  as  he 
leaned  on  his  sword,  taking  breath,  felt  another 
twitch  of  the  silken  cord ;  for  all  through  the 
terrible  encounter  he  had  held  it  fast  in  his 
left  hand.  Eager  to  let  Ariadne  know  of  his 
success,  he  followed  the  guidance  of  the 
thread,  and  soon  found  himself  at  the  entrance 
of  the  labyrinth. 

"Thou  hast  slain  the  monster!"  cried 
Ariadne,  clasping  her  hands. 

"Thanks  to  thee,  dear  Ariadne,"  answered 
Theseus,  "I  return  victorious." 

"Then,"  said  Ariadne,  "we  must  quickly 
summon  thy  friends,  and  get  them  and  thyself 
on  board  the  vessel  before  dawn.  If  morning 
finds  thee  here,  my  father  will  avenge  the 
Minotaur. ' ' 

To  make  my  story  short,  the  poor  captives 
were  awakened,  and  hardly  knowing  whether 
it  was  not  a  joyful  dream,  were  told  of  what 
Theseus  had  done,  and  that  they  must  set  sail 
for  Athens  before  daybreak.  Hastening 


58  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

down  to  the  vessel,  they  all  clambered  on 
board,  except  Prince  Theseus,  who  lingered 
behind  them,  on  the  strand,  holding  Ariadne's 
hand  clasped  in  his  own. 

"Dear  maiden/'  said  he,  "thou  wilt  surely 
go  with  us.  Thou  art  too  gentle  and  sweet  a 
child  for  such  an  iron-hearted  father  as  King 
Minos.  He  cares  no  more  for  thee  than  a 
granite,  rock  cares  for  the  little  flower  that 
grows  in  one  of  its  crevices.  But  my  father, 
King  Aegeus,  and  my  dear  mother,  Aethra, 
and  all  the  fathers  and  mothers  in  Athens,  and 
all  the  sons  and  daughters,  too,  will  love  and 
honor  thee  as  their  benefactress.  Come  with 
us,  then;  for  King  Minos  will  be  very  angry 
when  he  knows  what  thou  hast  done. " 

Now,  some  low-minded  people,  who  pretend 
to  tell  the  story  of  Theseus  and  Ariadne, 
have  the  face  to  say  that  this  royal  and  honor 
able  maiden  did  really  flee  away,  under  cover 
of  the  night,  with  the  young  stranger  whose 
life  she  had  preserved.  They  say,  too,  that 
Prince  Theseus  (who  would  have  died  sooner 
than  wrong  the  meanest  creature  in  the  world) 
ungratefully  deserted  Ariadne,  on  a  solitary 
island,  where  the  vessel  touched  on  its  voyage 
to  Athens.  But,  had  the  noble  Theseus  heard 
these  falsehoods,  he  would  have  served  their 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  59 

slanderous  authors  as  he  served  the  Minotaur! 
Here  is  what  Ariadne  answered,  when  the  brave 
Prince  of  Athens  besought  her  to  accompany 
him : — 

44 No,  Theseus,"  the  maiden  said,  pressing 
his  hand,  and  then  drawing  back  a  step  or 
two,  "I  cannot  go  with  you.  My  father  is  old 
and  has  nobody  but  myself  to  love  him.  Hard 
as  you  think  his  heart  is,  it  would  break  to  lose 
me.  At  first  King  Minos  will  be  angry ;  but 
he  will  soon  forgive  his  only  child ;  and,  by  and 
by,  he  will  rejoice,  I  know,  that  no  more 
youths  and  maidens  must  come  from  Athens  to 
be  devoured  by  the  Minotaur.  I  have  saved 
you,  Theseus,  as  much  for  my  father's  sake  as 
for  your  own.  Farewell!  Heaven  bless 
you!" 

All  this  was  so  true,  and  so  maiden-like, 
and  was  spoken  with  so  sweet  a  dignity,  that 
Theseus  would  have  blushed  to  urge  her  any 
longer.  Nothing  remained  for  him,  therefore, 
but  to  bid  Ariadne  an  affectionate  farewell, 
and  go  on  board  the  vessel,  and  set  sail. 

In  a  few  moments  the  white  foam  was  boil 
ing  up  before  their  prow,  as  Prince  Theseus 
and  his  companions  sailed  out  of  the  harbor 
with  a  whistling  breeze  behind  them.  Talus, 
the  brazen  giant,  on  his  never-ceasing  senti- 


60  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

nel's  march,  happened  to  be  approaching  that 
part  of  the  coast;  and  they  saw  him,  by  the 
glimmering  of  the  moonbeams  on  his  polished 
surface,  while  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off.  As 
the  figure  moved  like  clock-work,  however,  and 
could  neither  hasten  his  enormous  strides  nor 
retard  them,  he  arrived  at  the  port  when  they 
were  just  beyond  the  reach  of  his  club.  Never 
theless,  straddling  from  headland  to  headland, 
as  his  custom  was,  Talus  attempted  to  strike  a 
blow  at  the  vessel,  and,  overreaching  himself, 
tumbled  at  full  length  into  the  sea,  which 
splashed  high  over  his  gigantic  shape,  as  when 
an  iceberg  turns  a  somerset.  There  he  lies 
yet ;  and  whoever  desires  to  enrich  himself  by 
means  of  brass  had  better  go  thither  with  a 
diving-bell,  and  fish  up  Talus. 

On  the  homeward  voyage,  the  fourteen 
youths  and  damsels  were  in  excellent  spirits, 
as  you  will  easily  suppose.  They  spent  most 
of  their  time  in  dancing,  unless  when  the  side 
long  breeze  made  the  deck  slope  too  much. 
In  due  season,  they  came  within  sight  of  the 
coast  of  Attica,  which  was  their  native  country. 
But  here,  I  am  grieved  to  tell  you,  happened  a 
sad  misfortune. 

You  will  remember  (what  Theseus  unfortu 
nately  forgot)  that  his  father,  King  Aegeus, 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES,  €1 

had  enjoined  it  upon  him  to  hoist  sunshine 
sails,  instead  of  black  ones,  in  case  he 'should 
overcome  the  Minotaur,  and  return  victorious. 
In  the  joy  of  their  success,  however,  and  amidst 
the  sports,  dancing,  and  other  merriment, 
with  which  these  young1  folks  wore  away  the 
time,  they  never  once  thought  whether  their 
sails  were  black,  white,  or  rainbow  colored, 
and,  indeed,  left  it  entirely  to  the  mariners 
whether  they  had  any  sails  at  all.  Thus  the 
vessel  returned,  like  a  raven,  with  the  same 
sable  wings  that  had  wafted  her  away.  But 
poor  King  Aegeus,  day  after  day,  infirm  as  he 
was,  had  clambered  to  the  summit  of  a  cliff 
that  overhung  the  sea,  and  there  sat  watching 
for  Prince  Theseus,  homeward  bound ;  and  no 
sooner  did  he  behold  the  fatal  blackness  of  the 
sails,  than  he  concluded  that  his  dear  son, 
whom  he  loved  so  much,  and  felt  so  proud  of, 
had  been  eaten  by  the  Minotaur.  He  could 
not  bear  the  thought  of  living  any  longer;  so, 
first  flinging  his  crown  and  sceptre  into  the  sea 
(useless  bawbles  that  they  were  to  him  now !) 
King  Aegeus  merely  stooped  forward,  and  fell 
headlong  over  the  cliff,  and  was  drowned,  poor 
soul,  in  the  waves  that  foamed  at  its  base ! 

This     was     melancholy     news    for    Prince 
Theseus,  who,  when  he  stepped  ashore,  found 


62  TANGLEWOOD  TALES, 

himself  king  of  all  the  country,  whether  he 
would  or  no ;  and  such  a  turn  of  fortune  was 
enough  to  make  any  young  man  feel  very  much 
out  of  spirits.  However,  he  sent  for  his  dear 
mother  to  Athens,  and,  by  taking  her  advice 
in  matters  of  state,  became  a  very  excellent 
monarch,  and  was  greatly  beloved  by  his 
people. 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  6s 


THE  PYGMIES. 


A  great  while  ago,  when  the  world  was  full 
of  wonders,  there  lived  an  earth-born  Giant 
named  Antaeus,  and  a  million  or  more  of  curi 
ous  little  earth-born  people,  who  were  called 
Pygmies.  This  Giant  and  these  Pygmies  being 
children  of  the  same  mother  (that  is  to  say, 
our  good  old  Grandmother  Earth)  were  all 
brethren  and  dwelt  together  in  a  very  friendly 
and  affectionate  manner,  far,  far  off,  in  the 
middle  of  hot  Africa.  The  Pygmies  were  so 
small,  and  there  were  so  many  sandy  deserts 
and  such  high  mountains  between  them  and 
the  rest  of  mankind,  that  nobody  could  get  a 
peep  at  them  oftener  than  once  in  a  hundred 
years.  As  for  the  Giant,  being  of  a  very  lofty 
stature,  it  was  easy  enough  to  see  him,  but 
safest  to  keep  out  of  his  sight. 

Among  the  Pygmies,  I  suppose,  if  one  of 
them  grew  to  the  height  of  six  or  eight  inches, 
he  was  reckoned  a  prodigiously  tall  man.  It 
must  have  been  very  pretty  to  behold  their 


64  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

little  cities,  with  streets  two  or  three  feet  wide, 
paved  with  the  smallest  pebbles,  and  bordered 
by  habitations  about  as  big  as  a  squirrel's 
cage.  The  king's  palace  attained  to  the  stu 
pendous  magnitude  of  Periwinkle's  baby-house, 
and  stood  in  the  center  of  a  spacious  square, 
which  could  hardly  have  been  covered  by  our 
hearth-rug.  Their  principal  temple,  or  cathe 
dral,  was  as  lofty  as  yonder  bureau,  and  was 
looked  upon  as  a  wonderful,  sublime  and  mag 
nificent  edifice.  All  these  structures  were  built 
neither  of  stone  nor  wood.  They  were  neatly 
plastered  together  by  the  Pygmy  workmen, 
pretty  much  like  bird's-nest,  out  of  straw, 
feathers,  egg-shells,  and  other  small  bits  of 
stuff,  with  stiff  clay  instead  of  mortar;  and 
when  the  hot  sun  had  dried  them,  they  were 
just  as  snug  and  comfortable  as  a  Pygmy  could 
desire. 

The  country  round  about  was  conveniently 
laid  out  in  fields,  the  largest  of  which  was 
nearly  of  the  same  extent  as  one  of  Sweet 
Fern's  flower-beds.  Here  the  Pygmies  used 
to  plant  wheat  and  other  kinds  of  grain,  which, 
when  it  grew  up  and  ripened,  overshadowed 
these  tiny  people,  as  the  pines,  and  the  oaks, 
and  the  walnut  and  chestnut  trees  overshadow 
you  and  me,  when  we  walk  in  our  tracts  of 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  65 

woodland.  At  harvest-time,  they  were  forced 
to  go  with  their  little  axes  and  cut  down  the 
grain,  exactly  as  a  wood-cutter  makes  a  clearing 
in  the  forest;  and  when  a  stalk  of  wheat,  with 
its  overburdened  top,  chanced  to  come  crash 
ing  down  upon  an  unfortunate  Pygmy,  it  was 
apt  to  be  a  very  sad  affair.  If  it  did  not  smash 
him  all  to  pieces,  at  least,  I  am  sure,  it  must 
have  made  the  poor  little  fellow's  head  ache. 
And  oh,  my  stars!  if  the  fathers  and  mothers 
were  so  small,  what  must  the  children  and 
babies  have  been?  A  whole  family  of  them 
might  have  been  put  in  bed  in  a  shoe,  or  have 
crept  into  an  old  glove,  and  played  at  hide-and- 
seek  in  its  thumb  and  fingers.  You  might 
have  hidden  a  year-old  baby  under  a  thimble. 
Now  these  funny  Pygmies,  as  I  told  you 
before,  had  a  Giant  for  their  neighbor  and 
brother,  who  was  bigger,  if  possible,  than  they 
were  little.  He  was  so  very  tall  that  he  carried 
a  pine-tree,  which  was  eight  feet  through  the 
butt,  for  a  walking-stick.  It  took  a  far-sighted 
Pygmy,  I  can  assure  you,  to  discern  his  sum 
mit  without  the  help  of  a  telescope ;  and  some 
times,  in  misty  weather,  they  could  not  see  his 
upper  half,  but  only  his  long  legs,  which 
seemed  to  be  striding  about  by  themselves. 
But  at  noonday,  in  a  clear  atmosphere,  when 

5    Tanglewood  Tales 


66  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

the  sun  shone  brightly  over  him,  the  Giant 
Antaeus  presented  a  very  grand  spectacle. 
There  he  used  to  stand,  a  perfect  mountain  of 
a  man,  with  his  great  countenance  smiling 
down  upon  his  little  brothers,  and  his  one  vast 
eye  (which  was  as  big  as  a  cart-wheel,  and 
placed  right  in  the  center  of  his  forehead)  giv 
ing  a  friendly  wink  to  the  whole  nation  at 
once. 

The  Pygmies  loved  to  talk  with  Antaeus; 
and  fifty  times  a  day,  one-or  another  of  them 
would  turn  up  his  head,  and  shout  through  the 
hollow  of  his  fist,  "  Halloo,  brother  Antaeus ! 
How  are  you,  my  good  fellow?"  And  when 
the  small,  distant  squeak  of  their  voices  reached 
his  ear,  the  Giant  would  make  answer,  "  Pretty 
well,  brother  Pygrny,  I  thank  you,"  in  a  thun 
derous  roar  that  would  have  shaken  down  the 
walls  of  their  strongest  temple,  only  that  it 
came  from  so  far  aloft.  t 

It  was  a  happy  circumstance  that  Antaeus 
was  the  Pygmy  people's  friend;  for  there  was 
more  strength  in  his  little  finger  than  in  ten 
million  of  such  bodies  as  theirs.  If  he  had 
been  as  ill-natured  to  them  as  he  was  to  every 
body  else,  he  might  have  beaten  down  their 
biggest  city  at  one  kick,  and  hardly  have  known 
that  he  did  it.  With  the  tornado  of  his  breath, 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  67 

he  could  have  stripped  the  roofs  from  a  hun 
dred  dwellings,  and  sent  thousands  of  the 
inhabitants  whirling  through  the  air.  He 
might  have  set  his  immense  foot  upon  a  multi 
tude;  and  when  he  took  it  up  again,  there 
would  have  been  a  pitiful  sight,  to  be  sure. 
But,  being  the  son  of  Mother  Earth,  as  they 
likewise  were,  the  Giant  gave  them  his 
brotherly  kindness  and  loved  them  with  as  big 
a  love  as  it  was  possible  to  feel  for  creatures  so 
very  small.  And,  on  their  parts,  the  Pygmies 
loved  Antaeus  with  as  much  affection  as  their 
tiny  hearts  could  hold.  He  was  always  ready 
to  do  them  any  good  offices  that  lay  in  his 
power;  as,  for  example,  when  they  wanted  a 
breeze  to  turn  their  windmills,  the  Giant  would 
set  all  the  sails  a-going  with  the  mere  natural 
respiration  of  his  lungs.  When  the  sun  was 
too  hot,  he  often  sat  himself  down,  and  let  his 
shadow  fall  over  the  kingdom,  from  one  frontier 
to  the  other ;  and  as  for  matters  in  general,  he 
was  wise  enough  to  let  them  alone,  and  leave 
the  Pygmies  to  manage  their  own  affairs, — 
which,  after  all,  is  about  the  best  thing  that 
great  people  can  do  for  little  ones. 

In  short,  as  I  said  before,  Antaeus  loved  the 
Pygmies,  and  the  Pygmies  loved  Antaeus. 
The  Giant's  life  being  as  long  as  his  body  was 


63  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

large,  while  the  lifetime  of  a  Pygmy  was  but  a 
span,  this  friendly  intercourse  had  been  going 
on  for  innumerable  generations  and  ages.  It 
was  written  about  in  the  Pygmy  histories,  and 
talked  about  in  their  ancient  traditions.  The 
most  venerable  and  white-bearded  Pygmy  had 
never  heard  of  a  time,  even  in  his  greatest  of 
grandfather's  days,  when  the  Giant  was  not 
their  enormous  friend.  Once,  to  be  sure  (as 
was  recorded  on  an  obelisk,  three  feet  high, 
erected  on  the  place  of  the  catastrophe), 
Antaeus  sat  down  upon  about  five  thousand 
Pygmies,  who  were  assembled  at  a  military 
review.  But  this  was  one  of  those  unlucky 
accidents  for  which  nobody  was  to  blame ;  so 
that  the  small  folks  never  took  it  to  heart,  and 
only  requested  the  Giant  to  be  careful  forever 
afterwards  to  examine  the  acre  of  ground  where 
he  intended  to  squat  himself. 

It  is  a  very  pleasant  picture  to  imagine 
Antaeus  standing  among  the  Pygmies,  like  the 
spire  of  the  tallest  cathedral  that  ever  was 
built,  while  they  ran  about  like  pismires  at  his 
feet ;  and  to  think  that,  in  spite  of  their  diif er- 
ence  in  size,  there  was  affection  and  sympathy 
between  them  and  him !  Indeed,  it  has  always 
seemed  to  me  that  the  Giant  needed  the  little 
people  more  than  the  Pygmies  needed  the 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  69 

Giant.  For,  unless  they  had  been  his  neighbors 
and  well-wishers,  and,  as  we  may  say,  his  play 
fellows,  Antaeus  would  not  have  had  a  single 
friend  in  the  world.  No  other  being  like  him 
self  had  ever  been  created.  No  creature  of  his 
own  size  had  ever  talked  with  him,  in  thunder- 
like  accents,  face  to  face.  When  he  stood  with 
his  head  among  the  clouds,  he  was  quite  alone, 
and  had  been  so  for  hundreds  of  years,  and 
would  be  so  forever.  Even  if  he  had  met 
another  Giant,  Antaeus  would  have  fancied 
the  world  not  big  enough  for  two  such  vast 
personages,  and,  instead  of  being  friends  with 
him,  would  have  fought  him  till  one  of  the 
two  was  killed.  But  with  the  Pygmies  he  was 
the  most  sportive,  and  humorous,  and  merry- 
hearted,  and  sweet-tempered  old  Giant  that 
ever  washed  his  face  in  a  wet  cloud. 

His  little  friends,  like  all  other  small  people, 
had  a  great  opinion  of  their  own  importance, 
and  used  to  assume  quite  a  patronizing  air 
towards  the  Giant. 

4 'Poor  creature!"  they  said  one  to  another. 
44 He  has  a  very  dull  time  of  it,  all  by  himself; 
and  we  ought  not  to  grudge  wasting  a  little  of 
our  precious  time  to  amuse  him.  He  is  not 
half  so  bright  as  we  are,  to  be  sure,  and,  for 
that  reason,  he  needs  us  to  look  after  his  com- 


70  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

fort  and  happiness.  Let  us  be  kind  to  the  old 
fellow.  Why,  if  Mother  Earth  had  not  been 
very  kind  to  ourselves,  we  might  all  have  been 
Giants,  too/' 

On  all  their  holidays,  the  Pygmies  had  excel 
lent  sport  with  Antaeus.  He  often  stretched 
himself  out  at  full  length  on  the  ground,  where 
he  looked  like  the  long  ridge  of  a  hill ;  and  it 
was  a  good  hour's  walk,  no  doubt,  for  a  short 
legged  Pygmy  to  journey  from  head  to  foot  of 
the  Giant.  He  would  lay  down  his  great  hand 
flat  on  the  grass,  and  challenge  the  tallest  of 
them  to  clamber  upon  it,  and  straddle  from 
finger  to  finger.  So  fearless  were  they,  that 
they  made  nothing  of  creeping  in  among  the 
folds  of  his  garments.  When  his  head  lay 
sidewise  on  the  earth,  they  would  march  boldly 
up,  and  peep  into  the  great  cavern  of  his 
mouth,  and  take  it  all  as  a  joke  (as  indeed  it 
was  meant)  when  Antaeus  gave  a  sudden  snap 
of  his  jaws,  as  if  he  were  going  to  swallow  fifty 
of  them  at  once.  You  would  have  laughed  to 
see  the  children  dodging  in  and  out  among  his 
hair,  or  swinging  from  his  beard.  It  is  impos 
sible  to  tell  half  of  the  funny  tricks  that  they 
played  with  their  huge  comrade ;  but  I  do  not 
know  that  anything  was  more  curious  than 
when  a  party  of  boys  were  seen  running  races 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  71 

on  his  forehead,  to  try  which  of  them  could  get 
first  round  the  circle  of  his  one  great  eye.  It 
was  another  favorite  with  them  to  march  along 
the  bridge  of  his  nose,  and  jump  down  upon  his 
upper  lip. 

If  the  truth  must  be  told,  they  were  some 
times  as  troublesome  to  the  Giant  as  a  swarm 
of  ants  or  mosquitoes,  especially  as  they  had  a 
fondness  for  mischief,  and  liked  to  prick  his 
skin  with  their  little  swords  and  lances,  to  see 
how  thick  and  tough  it  was.  But  Antaeus  took 
it  all  kindly  enough;  although,  once  in  a 
while,  when  he  happened  to  be  sleepy,  he 
would  grumble  out  a  peevish  word  or  two,  like 
the  muttering  of  a  tempest,  and  ask  them  to 
have  done  with  their  nonsense.  A  great  deal 
oftener,  however,  he  watched  their  merriment 
and  gambols  until  his  huge,  heavy,  clumsy  wits 
were  completely  stirred  up  by  them ;  and  then 
would  he  roar  out  such  a  tremendous  volume 
of  immeasurable  laughter,  that  the  whole  nation 
of  Pygmies  had  to  put  their  hands  to  their  ears, 
else  it  would  certainly  have  deafened  them. 

"Ho!  ho!  ho!"  quoth  the  Giant,  shaking  his 
mountainous  sides.  "What  a  funny  thing  it 
is  to  be  little !  If  I  were  not  Antaeus,  I  should 
like  to  be  a  Pygmy,  just  for  the  joke's  sake." 

The   Pygmies  had  but  one  thing  to  trouble 


72  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

them  in  the  world.  They  were  constantly  at 
war  with  the  cranes,  and  had  always  been  so, 
ever  since  the  long-lived  Giant  could  remem 
ber.  From  time  to  time  very  terrible  battles 
had  been  fought,  in  which  sometimes  the  little 
men  won  the  victory,  and  sometimes  the 
cranes.  According  to  some  historians,  the 
Pygmies  used  to  go  to  the  battle  mounted  on 
the  backs  of  goats  and  rams ;  but  such  animals 
as  these  must  have  been  far  too  big  for  Pygmies 
to  ride  upon ;  so  that,  I  rather  suppose,  they 
rode  on  squirrel-back,  or  rabbit-back,  or  rat- 
back,  or  perhaps  got  upon  hedgehogs,  whose 
prickly  quills  would  be  very  terrible  to  the 
enemy.  However  this  might  be,  and  what 
ever  creatures  the  Pygmies  rode  upon,  I  do  not 
doubt  that  they  made  a  formidable  appearance, 
armed  with  sword  and  spear,  and  bow  and 
arrow,  blowing  their  tiny  trumpet,  and  shout 
ing  their  little  war-cry.  They  never  failed  to 
exhort  one  another  to  fight  bravely,  and  recol 
lect  that  the  world  had  its  eyes  upon  them; 
although,  in  simple  truth,  the  only  spectator 
was  the  Giant  Antaeus,  with  his  one,  great 
stupid  eye,  in  the  middle  of  his  forehead. 

When  the  two  armies  joined  battle,  the 
cranes  would  rush  forward,  flapping  their  wings 
and  stretching  out  their  necks  and  would  per- 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  73 

haps  snatch  up  some  of  the  Pygmies  crosswise 
in  their  beaks.  Whenever  this  happened,  it 
was  truly  an  awful  spectacle  to  see  those  little 
men  of  might  kicking  and  sprawling  in  the  air, 
and  at  last  disappearing  down  the  crane's  long, 
crooked  throat,  swallowed  up  alive.  A  hero, 
you  know,  must  hold  himself  in  readiness  for 
any  kind  of  fate ;  and  doubtless  the  glory  of 
the  thing  was  a  consolation  to  him,  even  in  the 
crane's  gizzard.  If  Antaeus  observed  that  the 
battle  was  going  hard  against  his  little  allies, 
he  generally  stopped  laughing,  and  ran  with 
mile-long  strides  to  their  assistance,  flourishing 
his  club  aloft  and  shouting  at  the  cranes,  who 
quacked  and  croaked,  and  retreated  as  fast  as 
they  could.  Then  the  Pygmy  army  would 
march  homeward  in  triumph,  attributing  the 
victory  entirely  to  their  own  valor,  and  to  the 
warlike  skill  and  strategy  of  whomsoever  hap 
pened  to  be  captain  general ;  and  for  a  tedious 
while  afterwards,  nothing  would  be  heard  of 
but  grand  processions,  and  public  banquets, 
and  brilliant  illuminations,  and  shows  of  wax 
work,  with  likenesses  of  the  distinguished 
officers  as  small  as  life. 

In  the  above-described  warfare,  if  a  Pygmy 
chanced  to  pluck  out  a  crane's  tail-feather,  it 
proved  a  very  great  feather  in  his  cap.  Once 


74  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

or  twice,  if  you  will  believe   me,   a  little  man 
was  made  chief  ruler  of  the  nation  for  no  other 
merit  in  the  world  than  bringing  home  such  a  - 
feather. 

But  I  have  now  said  enough  to  let  you  see 
what  a  gallant  little  people  these  were,  and 
how  happily  they  and  their  forefathers,  for 
nobody  knows  how  many  generations,  had  lived 
with  the  immeasurable  Giant  Antaeus.  In  the 
remaining  part  of  the  story,  I  shall  tell  you  of 
a  far  more  astonishing  battle  than  any  that 
was  fought  between  the  Pygmies  and  the 
cranes. 

One  day  the  mighty  Antaeus  was  lolling  at 
full  length  among  his  little  friends.  His  pine- 
tree  walking-stick  lay  on  the  ground  close  by 
his  side.  His  head  was  in  one  part  of  the  king 
dom,  and  his  feet  extended  across  the  bound 
aries  of  another  part ;  and  he  was  taking  what 
ever  comfort  he  could  get,  while  the  Pygmies 
scrambled  over  him,  and  peeped  into  his  cav- 
erous  mouth,  and  played  among  his  hair. 
Sometimes,  for  a  minute  or  two,  the  Giant 
dropped  asleep,  and  snored  like  the  rush  of  a 
whirl-wind.  During  one  of  these  little  bits  of 
slumber,  a  Pygmy  chanced  to  climb  upon  his 
shoulder,  and  took  a  view  around  the  horizon, 
as  from  the  summit  of  a  hill ;  and  he  beheld 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  75 

something,  a  long  way  off,  which  made  him 
rub  the  bright  specks  of  his  eyes,  and  look 
sharper  than  before.  At  first  he  mistook  it  for 
a  mountain,  and  wondered  how  it  had  grown 
up  so  suddenly  out  of  the  earth.  But  soon  he 
saw  the  mountain  move.  As  it  came  nearer 
and  nearer,  what  should  it  turn  out  to  be  but 
a  human  shape,  not  so  big  as  Antaeus,  it  is 
true,  although  a  very  enormous  figure,  in  com 
parison  with  Pygmies,  and  a  vast  deal  bigger 
than  the  men  whom  we  see  nowadays. 

When  the  Pygmy  was  quite  satisfied  that  his 
eyes  had  not  deceived  him,  he  scampered,  as 
fast  as  his  legs  would  carry  him,  to  the  giant's 
ear,  and  stooping  over  its  cavity,  shouted  lustily 
into  it: 

4 'Halloo,  brother  Antaeus!  Get  up  this 
minute,  and  take  your  pine-tree  walking-stick 
in  your  hand.  Here  comes  another  giant  to 
have  a  tussle  with  you. ' ' 

"Poh,  poh!"  grumbled  Antaeus,  only  half 
awake.  "None  of  your  nonsense,  my  little 
fellow!  Don't  you  see  I'm  sleepy?  There  is 
not  a  Giant  on  earth  for  whom  I  would  take 
the  trouble  to  get  up. ' ' 

But  the  Pygmy  looked  again,  and  now  per 
ceived  that  the  stranger  was  coming  directly 
toward  the  prostrate  form  of  Antaeus.  With 


76  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

every  step  he  looked  less  like  a  blue  mountain, 
and  more  like  an  immensely  large  man.  He 
was  soon  so  nigh,  that  there  could  be  no  pos 
sible  mistake  about  the  matter.  There  he 
was,  with  the  sun  flaming  on  his  golden 
helmet,  and  flashing  from  his  polished  breast 
plate;  he  had  a  sword  by  his  side,  and  a  lion's 
skin  over  his  back,  and  on  his  right  shoulder 
he  carried  a  club,  which  looked  bulkier  and 
heavier  than  the  pine-tree  walking-stick  of 
Antaeus. 

By  this  time  the  whole  nation  of  Pygmies 
had  seen  the  new  wonder,  and  a  million  of 
them  set  up  a  shout,  all  together;  so  that  it 
really  made  quite  an  audible  squeak. 

44 Get  up,  Antaeus!  Bestir  yourself,  you 
lazy  old  Giant!  Here  comes  another  Giant,  as 
strong  as  you  are,  to  fight  with  you." 

4 'Nonsense,  nonsense!"  growled  the  sleepy 
Giant,  "I'll  have  my  nap  out,  come  who  may." 

Still  the  stranger  drew  nearer ;  and  now  the 
Pygmies  could  plainly  discern  that,  if  his 
stature  were  less  lofty  than  the  Giant's,  yet 
his  shoulders  were  even  broader.  And,  in 
truth,  what  a  pair  of  shoulders  they  must  have 
been !  As  I  told  you,  a  long  while  ago,  they 
once  upheld  the  sky.  The  Pygmies,  being  ten 
times  as  vivacious  as  their  great  numskull  of 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  77 

a  brother,  could  not  abide  the  Giant's  slow 
movements,  and  were  determined  to  have  him 
on  his  feet.  So  they  kept  shouting  to  him,  and 
even  went  so  far  as  to  prick  him  with  their 
swords. 

44 Get  up,  get  up,  get  up!"  they  cried.  "Up 
with  you,  lazy  bones!  The  strange  Giant's 
club  is  bigger  than  your  own,  his  shoulders 
are  the  broadest,  and  we  think  him  the  stronger^ 
of  the  two." 

Antaeus  could  not  endure  to  have  it  said 
that  any  mortal  was  half  so  mighty  as  himself. 
This  latter  remark  of  the  Pygmies  pricked  him 
deeper  than  their  swords ;  and,  sitting  up,  in 
rather  a  sulky  humor,  he  gave  a  gape  several 
yards  wide,  rubbed  his  eye,  and  finally  turned 
his  stupid  head  in  the  direction  whither  his 
little  friends  were  eagerly  pointing. 

No  sooner  did  he  set  eye  on  the  stranger 
than,  leaping  on  his  feet,  and  seizing  his  walk 
ing-stick,  he  strode  a  mile  or  two  to  meet  him ; 
all  the  while  brandishing  the  sturdy  pine-tree, 
so  that  it  whistled  through  the  air. 

* '  Who  are  you  ? ' '  thundered  the  Giant.  * 4  And 
what  do  you  want  in  my  dominions  ?" 

There  was  one  strange  thing  about  Antaeus, 
of  which  I  have  not  yet  told  you,  lest,  hear 
ing  of  so  many  wonders  all  in  a  lump,  you 


78  TANGLE  WOOD   TALES. 

might  not  believe  much  more  than  half  of 
them.  You  are  to  know,  then,  that  whenever 
this  redoubtable  Giant  touched  the  ground, 
either  with  his  hand,  his  foot,  or  any  other  part 
of  his  body,  he  grew  stronger  than  ever  he  had 
been  before.  The  Earth,  you  remember,  was 
his  mother,  and  was  very  fond  of  him,  as  being 
almost  the  biggest  of  her  children ;  and  so  she 
took  this  method  of  keeping  him  always  in 
full  vigor.  Some  persons  affirm  that  he  grew 
ten  times  stronger  at  every  touch ;  others  say 
that  it  was  only  twice  as  strong.  But  only 
think  of  it!  Whenever  Antaeus  took  a  walk, 
supposing  it  were  but  ten  miles,  and  that  he 
stepped  a  hundred  yards  at  a  stride,  you  may 
try  to  cipher  out  how  much  mightier  he  was, 
on  sitting  down  again,  than  when  he  first 
started.  And  whenever  he  flung  himself  on 
the  earth  to  take  a  little  repose,  even  if  he  got 
up  the  very  next  instant,  he  would  be  as 
strong  as  exactly  ten  just  such  giants  as  his 
former  self.  It  was  well  for  the  world  that 
Antaeus  happened  to  be  of  a  sluggish  disposi 
tion,  and  liked  ease  better  than  exercise ;  for 
if  he  had  frisked  about  like  the  Pygmies,  and 
touched  the  earth  as  often  as  they  did,  he  would 
long  ago  have  been  strong  enough  to  pull  down 
the  sky  about  people's  ears.  But  these  great 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  79 

lubberly  fellows  resemble  mountains,  not  only 
in  bulk  but  in  their  disinclination  to  move. 

Any  other  mortal  man,  except  the  very  one 
whom  Antaeus  had  now  encountered,  would 
have  been  half  frightened  to  death  by  the 
Giant's  ferocious  aspect  and  terrible  voice. 
But  the  stranger  did  not  seem  at  all  disturbed. 
He  carelessly  lifted  his  club  and  balanced  it  in 
his  hand,  measuring  Antaeus  with  his  eye  from 
head  to  foot,  not  as  if  wonder-smitten  at  his 
stature,  but  as  if  he  had  seen  a  great  many 
Giants  before,  and  this  was  by  no  means  the 
biggest  of  them.  In  fact,  if  the  Giant  had 
been  no  bigger  than  the  Pygmies  (who  stood 
pricking  up  their  ears,  and  looking  and  listen 
ing  to  what  was  going  forward),  the  stranger 
could  not  have  been  less  afraid  of  him. 

"  Who  are  you,  I  say?"  roared  Antaeus  again. 
"What's  your  name?  Why  do  you  come 
hither?  Speak,  you  vagabond,  or  I'll  try  the 
thickness  of  your  skull  with  my  walking-stick. " 

"You  are  a  very  discourteous  Giant," 
answared  the  stranger,  quietly,  "and  I  shall 
probably  have  to  teach  you  a  little  civility 
before  we  part.  As  for  my  name — it  is  Her 
cules.  I  have  come  hither  because  this  is  my 
most  convenient  road  to  the  garden  of  the 


80  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

Hesperides,  whither  I  am  going  to  get  three  of 
the  golden  apples  for  King  Eurystheus." 

"Caitiff,  you  shall  go  no  farther!"  bellowed 
Antaeus,  putting  on  a  grimmer  look  than 
before,  for  he  had  heard  of  the  mighty  Her 
cules,  and  hated  him  because  he  was  said  to  be 
so  strong.  "Neither  shall  you  go  back  whence 
you  came!" 

"How  will  you  prevent  me/'  asked  Her 
cules,  "from  going  whither  I  please?" 

"By  hitting  you  a  rap  with  this  pine-tree 
here,"  shouted  Antaeus,  scowling  so  that  he 
made  himself  the  ugliest  monster  in  Africa. 
"I  am  fifty  times  stronger  than  you,  and,  now 
that  I  stamp  my  foot  upon  the  ground,  I  am 
five  hundred  times  stronger!  I  am  ashamed 
to  kill  such  a  puny  little  dwarf  as  you  seem  to 
be.  I  shall  make  a  slave  of  you,  and  you  shall 
likewise  be  the  slave  of  my  brethren  here,  the 
Pygmies.  So  throw  down  your  club  and  your 
other  weapons;  and  as  for  that  lion's  skin,  I 
intend  to  have  a  pair  of  gloves  made  of  it." 

"Come  and  take  it  off  my  shoulders,  then," 
answered  Hercules,  lifting  his  club. 

Then  the  Giant,  grinning  with  rage,  strode 
tower-like  towards  the  stranger  (ten  times 
strengthened  at  every  step),  and  fetched  a 
monstrous  blow  at  him  with  his  pine-tree,  which 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  81 

Hercules  caught  upon  his  club,  and  being 
more  skilful  than  Antaeus  he  paid  him  back 
such  a  rap  on  the  sconce,  that  down  tumbled 
the  great  lumbering  man-mountain  flat  upon 
the  ground.  The  poor  little  Pygmies  (who 
really  never  dreamed  that  anybody  in  the 
world  was  half  so  strong  as  their  brother 
Antaeus)  were  a  good  deal  dismayed  at  this. 
But  no  sooner  was  the  Giant  down  than  up  he 
bounced  again,  with  tenfold  might,  and  such  a 
furious  visage  as  was  horrible  to  behold.  He 
aimed  another  blow  at  Hercules,  but  struck 
awry,  being  blinded  with  wrath,  and  only  hit 
his  poor,  innocent  Mother  Earth,  who  groaned 
and  trembled  at  the  stroke.  His  pine-tree 
went  so  deep  into  the  ground,  and  stuck  there  so 
fast,  that  before  Antaeus  could  get  it  out,  Her 
cules  brought  down  his  club  across  his  shoul 
ders  with  a  mighty  thwack,  which  made  the 
Giant  roar,  as  if  all  sorts  of  intolerable  noises 
had  come  screeching  and  rumbling  out  of  his 
immeasurable  lungs  in  that  one  cry.  Away  it 
went,  over  mountains  and  valleys,  and,  for 
aught  I  know,  was  heard  on  the  other  side  of 
the  African  deserts. 

As  for  the  Pygmies,  their  capital  city  was 
laid  in  ruins  by  the  concussion  and  vibration  of 
the  air  and,  though  there  was  uproar  enough 

6    Tanglewood  Tales 


;82  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

without  their  help,  they  all  set  tip  a  shriek  out 
of  three  millions  of  little  throats,  fancying,  no 
doubt,  that  they  swelled  the  Giant's  bellow  by 
at  least  ten  times  as  much.  Meanwhile, 
Antaeus  had  scrambled  upon  his  feet  again, 
and  pulled  his  pine-tree  out  of  the  earth ;  and, 
all  a-flame  with  fury,  and  more  outrageously 
strong  than  ever,  he  ran  at  Hercules,  and 
brought  down  another  blow. 

"This  time,  rascal,"  shouted  he,  "you  shall 
not  escape  me. " 

But  once  more  Hercules  warded  off  the 
stroke  with  his  club,  and  the  Giant's  pine-tree 
was  shattered  into  a  thousand  splinters,  most 
of  which  flew  amoncf  the  Pygmies,  and  did 

o  .»  o 

them  more  mischief  than  I  like  to  think  about. 
Before  Antaeus  could  get  out  of  the  way  Her 
cules  let  drive  again,  and  gave  him  another 
knock-down  blow,  which  sent  him  heels  over 
head,  but  served  only  to  increase  his  already 
enormous  and  insufferable  strength.  As  for 
his  rage,  there  is  no  telling  what  a  fiery  furn 
ace  it  had  now  got  to  be.  His  one  eye  was 
nothing  but  a  circle  of  red  flame.  Having  no 
weapons  but  his  fists,  he  doubled  them  up  (each 
bigger  than  a  hogshead),  smote  one  against  the 
other  and  danced  up  and  down  with  absolute 
frenzy,  flourishing  his  immense  arms  about,  as 


T ANGLE Woo£  TALES.  S3 

if  he  meant  not  merely  to  kill  Hercules,  but 
to  smash  the  whole  world  to  pieces. 

"Come  on!"  roared  this  thundering  Giant 
*  '  Let  me  hit  you  but  one  box  on  the  ear,  and 
you'll  never  have  the  headache  again." 

Now  Hercules  (though  strong  enough,  as  you 
already  know,  to  hold  the  sky  up)  began  to  be 
sensible  that  he  should  never  win  the  victory, 
if  he  kept  on  knocking  Antaeus  down ;  for,  by 
and  by,  if  he  hit  him  such  hard  blows,  the 
Giant  would  inevitably,  by  the  help  of  his 
Mother  Earth,  become  stronger  than  the 
mighty  Hercules  himself.  So,  throwing  down 
his  club,  with  which  he  had  fought  so  many 
dreadful  battles,  the  hero  stood  ready  to  receive 
his  antagonist  with  naked  arms. 

"Step  forward,"  cried  he.  "Since  I've 
broken  your  pine-tree,  we'll  try  which  is  the 
better  man  at  a  wrestling  match." 

"Aha!  then  I'll  soon  satisfy  you,"  shouted 
the  Giant,  for  if  there  was  one  thing  on  which 
he  prided  himself  more  than  another,  it  was 
his  skill  in  wrestling.  Villain,  I'll  fling  you 
where  you  can  never  pick  yourself  up  again." 

On  came  Antaeus,  hopping  and  capering 
with  the  scorching  heat  of  his  rage,  and  getting 
new  vigor  wherewith  to  wreak  his  passion, 
every  time  he  hopped.  But  Hercules,  you 


84  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

must  understand,  was  wiser  than  this  numskull 
of  a  Giant,  and  had  thought  of  a  way  to  fight 
him — huge  earth-born  monster  that  he  was — 
and  to  conquer  him,  too,  in  spite  of  all  that  his 
Mother  Earth  could  do  for  him.  Watching 
his  opportunity,  as  the  mad  Giant  made  a  rush 
at  him,  Hercules  caught  him  round  the  middle 
with  both  hands,  lifted  him  high  into  the  air, 
and  held  him  aloft  overhead. 

Just  imagine  it,  my  dear  little  friends !  What 
a  spectacle  it  must  have  been  to  see  this  mon 
strous  fellow  sprawling  in  the  air,  face  down 
ward,  kicking  out  his  long  legs  and  wriggling 
his  whole  vast  body,  like  a  baby  when  its 
father  holds  it  at  arm's-length  towards  the  ceil 
ing. 

But  the  most  wonderful  thing  was,  that,  as 
soon  as  Antaeus  was  fairly  off  the  earth,  he 
began  to  lose  the  vigor  which  he  had  gained 
by  touching  it.  Hercules  very  soon  perceived 
that  his  troublesome  enemy  was  growing 
weaker,  both  because  he  struggled  and  kicked 
with  less  violence,  and  because  the  thunder  of 
his  big  voice  subsided  into  a  grumble.  The 
truth  was,  that,  unless  the  Giant  touched 
Mother  Earth  as  often  as  once  in  five  minutes, 
not  only  his  overgrown  strength,  but  the  very 
breath  of  his  life  would  depart  from  him. 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  86 

Hercules  had  guessed  this  secret;  and  it  may 
be  well  for  us  all  to  remember  it,  in  case  \ve 
should  ever  have  to  fight  a  battle  with  a  fellow 
like  Antaeus.  For  these  earth-born  creatures 
are  only  difficult  to  conquer  on  their  own 
ground,  but  may  easily  be  managed  if  we  can 
contrive  to  lift  them  into  a  loftier  and  purer 
region.  So  it  proved  with  the  poor  Giant, 
whom  I  am  really  a  little  sorry  for,  notwith 
standing  his  uncivil  way  of  treating  strangers 
who  came  to  visit  him. 

When  his  strength  and  breath  were  quite 
gone,  Hercules  gave  his  huge  body  a  toss,  and 
flung  it  about  a  mile  off,  where  it  fell  heavily, 
and  lay  with  no  more  motion  than  a  sand-hill. 
It  was  too  late  for  the  Giant's  Mother  Earth  to 
help  him  now ;  and  I  should  not  wonder  if  his 
ponderous  bones  were  lying  on  the  same  spot 
to  this  very  day,  and  were  mistaken  for  those 
of  an  uncommonly  large  elephant. 

But,  alas  me !  What  a  wailing  did  the  poor 
little  Pygmies  set  up  when  they  saw  their 
enormous  brother  treated  in  this  terrible  man 
ner!  If  Hercules  heard  their  shrieks,  how 
ever,  he  took  no  notice,  and  perhaps  fancied 
them  only  the  shrill,  plaintive  twittering  of 
small  birds  that  had  been  frightened  from 
their  nests  by  the  uproar  of  the  battle  between 


88  TANGLEWOOD  TALES, 

himself  and  Antaeus.  Indeed,  his  thoughts 
had  been  so  much  taken  up  with  the  Giant,  that 
he  had  never  once  looked  at  the  Pygmies,  nor 
even  knew  that  there  was  such  a  funny  little 
nation  in  the  world.  And  now,  as  he  had 
traveled  a  good  way,  and  was  also  rather 
weary  with  his  exertions  in  the  fight,  he  spread 
out  his  lion's  skin  on  the  ground,  and  reclin 
ing  himself  upon  it,  fell  fast  asleep. 

As  soon  as  the  Pygmies  saw  Hercules  pre 
paring  for  a  nap,  they  nodded  their  little  heads 
at  on  another  and  winked  with  their  little  eyes. 
And  when  by  his  deep,  regular  breathing  they 
noticed  that  he  was  asleep,  they  assembled 
together  in  an  immense  crowd,  spreading  over 
a  space  of  about  twenty- seven  feet  square. 
One  of  their  most  eloquent  orators  (and  a  val 
iant  warrior  enough,  besides,  though  hardly  so 
good  at  any  other  weapon  as  he  was  with  his 
tongue)  climbed  upon  a  toad-stool,  and  from 
that  elevated  position  addressed  the  multitude. 
His  sentiments  were  pretty  near  much  as  fol 
lows;  or,  at  all  events,  something  like  this  was 
probably  the  upshot  of  his  speech : — 

44 Tall  Pygmies  and  mighty  little  men!  You 
and  all  of  us  have  seen  what  a  public  calamity 
has  been  brought  to  pass,  and  what  an  insult 
has  here  been  offered  to  the  majesty  of  our 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  87 

nation.  Yonder  lies  Antaeus,  our  great  friend 
and  brother,  slain,  within  our  territory,  by  a 
miscreant  who  took  him  at  disadvantage,  and 
fought  him  (if  fighting  it  can  be  called)  in  a 
way  that  neither  man,  nor  Giant,  nor  Pygmy 
ever  dreamed  of  fighting  until  this  hour. 
And,  adding  a  grievous  contumely  to  the 
wrong  already  done  us,  the  miscreant  has  now 
fallen  asleep  as  quietly  as  if  nothing  were  to 
be  dreaded  from  our  wrath !  It  behooves  you, 
fellow  countrymen,  to  consider  in  what  aspect 
we  shall  stand  before  the  world,  and  what  will 
be  the  verdict  of  impartial  history,  should  we 
suffer  these  accumulated  outrages  to  go 
unavenged. 

44  Antaeus  was  our  brother,  born  of  that  same 
beloved  parent  to  whom  we  owe  the  thews  and 
sinews,  as  well  as  the  courageous  hearts,  which 
made  him  proud  of  our  relationship.  He  was 
our  faithful  ally,  and  fell  fighting  as  much  for 
our  national  rights  and  immunities  as  for  his 
own  personal  ones.  We  and  our  forefathers 
have  dwelt  in  friendship  with  him  and  held 
affectionate  intercourse,  as  man  to  man,  through 
immemorial  generations.  You  remember  how 
often  our  entire  people  have  reposed  in 
his  great  shadow,  and  how  our  little  ones  have 
played  at  hide-and-seek  in  the  tangles  of  his 


88  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

hair,  and  how  his  mighty  footsteps  have  fa- 
miliauiy  gone  to  and  fro  among  us,  and  never 
trodden  upon  any  of  our  toes.  And  there  lies 
this  dear  brother — this  sweet  and  amiable 
friend — this  brave  and  faithful  ally — this  virtu 
ous  Giant — this  blameless  and  excellent  Antae 
us — dead!  Dead!  Silent!  Powerless!  A 
mere  mountain  of  clay!  Forgive  my  tears! 
Nay,  I  behold  your  own !  Were  we  to  drown 
the  world  with  them,  could  the  world  blame  us? 
"But  to  resume:  Shall  we,  my  countrymen, 
suffer  this  wicked  stranger  to  depart  unharmed 
and  triumph  in  his  treacherous  victory,  among 
distant  communities  of  the  earth?  Shall  we 
not  rather  compel  him  to  leave  his  bones  here 
on  our  soil,  by  the  side  of  our  slain  brother's 
bones,  so  that,  while  one  skeleton  shall  remain 
as  the  everlasting  monument  of  our  sorrow, 
the  other  shall  endure  as  long,  exhibiting  to 
the  whole  human  race  a  terrible  example  of 
Pygmy  vengeance?  Such  is  the  question.  I 
put  it  to  you  in  full  confidence  of  a  response 
that  shall  be  worthy  of  our  national  character, 
and  calculated  to  increase,  rather  than  dimin 
ish,  the  glory  which  our  ancestors  have  trans 
mitted  to  us,  and  which  we  ourselves  have 
proudly  vindicated  in  our  warfare  with  the 
cranes/' 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  89 

The  orator  here  was  interrupted  by  a  burst 
of  irrepressible  enthusiasm;  every  individual 
Pygmy  crying  out  that  the  national  honor  must 
be  preserved  at  all  hazards.  He  bowed,  and 
making  a  gesture  for  silence,  wound  up  his 
harangue  in  the  following  admirable  manner : — 

"It  only  remains  for  us,  then,  to  decide 
whetherwe  shall  carry  on  the  war  in  our  national 
capacity— one  united  people  against  a  common 
enemy — or  whether  some  champion,  famous  in 
former  fights,  shall  be  selected  to  defy  the 
slayer  of  our  brother  Antaeus  to  single  com 
bat.  In  the  latter  case,  though  not  uncon 
scious  that  there  may  be  taller  men  among 
you,  I  hereby  offer  myself  for  that  enviable 
duty.  And,  believe  me,  dear  countrymen, 
whether  I  live  or  die,  the  honor  of  this  great 
country,  and  the  fame  bequeathed  us  by  our 
heroic  progenitors,  shall  suffer  no  diminution 
in  my  hands.  Never,  while  I  can  wield  this 
sword,  of  which  I  now  fling  away  the  scabbard 
— never,  never,  never,  even  if  the  crimson 
hand  that  slew  the  great  Antaeus  shall  lay  me 
prostrate,  like  him,  on  the  soil  which  I  give  my 
life  to  defend. ' ' 

So  saying,  this  vailant  Pygmy  drew  out  his 
weapon  (which  was  terrible  to  behold,  being 
as  long  as  the  blade  of  a  penknife),  and  sent 


90  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

the  scabbard  whirling  over  the  heads  of  the 
multitude.  His  speech  was  followed  by  an 
uproar  of  applause,  as  its  patriotism  and  self- 
devotion  unquestionably  deserved;  and  the 
shouts  and  clapping  of  hands  would  have  been 
greatly  prolonged  had  they  not  been  rendered 
quite  inaudible  by  a  deep  respiration,  vulgarly 
called  a  snore,  from  the  sleeping  Hercules. 

It  was  finally  decided  that  the  whole  nation 
of  Pygmies  should  set  to  work  to  destroy  Her 
cules;  not,  be  it  understood,  from  any  doubt 
that  a  single  champion  would  be  capable  of 
putting  him  to  the  sword,  but  because  he  was 
a  public  enemy,  and  all  were  desirous  of  shar 
ing  in  the  glory  of  his  defeat.  There  was  a 
debate  whether  the  national  honor  did  not 
demand  that  a  herald  should  be  sent  with  a 
trumpet,  to  stand  over  the  ear  of  Hercules, 
and,  after  blowing  a  blast  right  into  it,  defy 
him  to  the  combat  by  formal  proclamation. 
But  two  or  three  venerable  and  sagacious  Pyg 
mies,  well  versed  in  state  affairs,  gave  it  as 
their  opinion  that  war  already  existed,  and  that 
it  was  their  rightful  privilege  to  take  the 
enemy  by  surprise.  Moreover,  if  awakened, 
and  allowed  to  get  upon  his  feet,  Hercules 
might  happen  to  do  them  a  mischief  before  he 
could  be  beaten  down  again.  For,  as  these 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  91 

sage  counsellors  remarked,  the  stranger's  club 
was  really  very  big,  and  had  rattled  like  a 
thunderbolt  against  the  skull  of  Antaeus.  So 
the  Pygmies  resolved  to  set  aside  all  foolish 
punctilios  and  assail  their  antagonist  at  once. 

Accordingly,  all  the  fighting  men  of  the 
nation  took  their  weapons  and  went  boldly  up 
to  Hercules,  who  still  lay  fast  asleep,  little 
dreaming  of  the  harm  which  the  Pygmies 
meant  to  do  him.  A  body  of  twenty  thousand 
archers  marched  in  front,  with  their  little  bows 
all  ready,  and  the  arrows  on  the  string.  The 
san^e  number  were  ordered  to  clamber  upon 
Hercules,  some  with  spades  to  dig  his  eyes  out, 
and  others  with  bundles  of  hay  and  all  manner 
of  rubbish,  with  which  they  intended  to  plug 
up  his  mouth  and  nostrils,  so  that  he  might 
perish  for  lack  of  breath.  These  last,  how 
ever,  could  by  no  means  perform  their  appointed 
duty;  inasmuch  as  the  enemy's  breath  rushed 
out  of  his  nose  in  an  obstreperous  hurricane  and 
whirlwind,  which  blew  the  Pygmies  away  as 
fast  as  they  came  nigh.  It  was  found  neces 
sary,  therefore,  to  hit  upon  some  other  method 
of  carrying  on  the  war. 

After  holding  a  council,  the  captains  ordered 
their  troops  to  collect  sticks,  straws,  dry  weeds 
and  whatever  combustible  stuff  they  could  find, 


92  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

and  make  a  pile  of  it,  heaping  it  high  around 
the  head  of  Hercules.  As  a  great  many  thous 
and  Pygmies  were  employed  in  this  task,  they 
soon  brought  together  several  bushels  of 
inflammatory  matter,  and  raised  so  tall  a  heap 
that,  mounting  on  its  summit,  they  were  quite 
upon  a  level  with  the  sleeper's  face.  The 
archers,  meanwhile,  were  stationed  within 
bow-shot,  with  orders  to  let  fly  at  Hercules  the 
instant  that  he  stirred.  Everything  being  in 
readiness,  a  torch  was  applied  to  the  pile, 
which  immediately  burst  into  flames,  and  soon 
waxed  hot  enough  to  roast  the  enemy  had  he 
chosen  to  lie  still.  A  Pygmy,  you  know, 
though  so  very  small,  might  set  the  world  on 
fire,  just  as  easily  as  a  Giant  could;  so  that 
this  v/as  certainly  the  very  best  way  of  dealing 
with  their  foe,  provided  they  could  have  kept 
him  quiet  while  the  conflagration  was  going 
forward. 

But  no  sooner  did  Hercules  begin  to  be 
scorched  than  up  he  started,  with  his  hair  in  a 
red  blaze. 

4 'What's  all  this?"  he  cried,  bewildered  with 
sleep,  and  staring  about  him  as  if  he  expected 
to  see  another  Giant. 

At  that  moment  the  twenty  thousand  archers 
twanged  their  bowstrings,  and  the  arrows  came 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  93 

whizzing,  like  so  many  winged  mosquitoes, 
right  into  the  face  of  Hercules.  But  I  doubt 
whether  more  than  half  a  dozen  of  them  punc 
tured  the  skin,  which  was  remarkably  tough, 
as  you  know  the  skin  of  a  hero  has  good  need 
to  be. 

44 Villain!"  shouted  all  the  Pygmies  at  once. 
44  You  have  killed  the  Giant  Antaeus,  our  great 
brother  and  the  ally  of  our  nation.  We  declare 
bloody  war  against  you  and  will  slay  you  on 
the  spot. ' ' 

Surprised  at  the  shrill  piping  of  so  many  lit 
tle  voices,  Hercules,  after  putting  out  the  con 
flagration  of  his  hair,  gazed  all  around  about, 
but  could  see  nothing.  At  last,  however, 
looking  narrowly  on  the  ground,  he  espied  the 
innumerable  assemblage  of  Pygmies  at  his 
feet.  He  stooped  down,  and  taking  up  the 
nearest  one  between  his  thumb  and  finger,  set 
him  on  the  palm  of  his  left  hand,  and  held  him 
at  a  proper  distance  for  examination.  It 
chanced  to  be  the  very  identical  Pygmy  who 
had  spoken  from  the  top  of  the  toadstool,  and 
had  offered  himself  as  a  champion  to  meet 
Hercules  in  single  combat. 

44 What  in  the  world,  my  little  fellow/'  ejac 
ulated  Hercules,  44may  you  be?" 

44 1  am  your  enemy,"  answered  the  valiant 


94  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

Pygmy,  in  his  mightiest  squeak.  "You  have 
slain  the  enormous  Antaeus,  our  brother  by  the 
mother's  side,  and  for  ages  the  faithful  ally  of 
our  illustrious  nation.  We  are  determined  to 
put  you  to  death ;  and  for  my  own  part,  I  chal 
lenge  you  to  instant  battle,  on  equal  grounds." 

Hercules  was  so  tickled  with  the  Pygmy's 
big  words  and  warlike  gestures,  that  he  burst 
into  a  great  explosion  of  laughter,  and  almost 
drooped  the  poor  little  mite  of  a  creature  off 
the  palm  of  his  hand,  through  the  ecstasy  and 
convulsions  of  his  merriment. 

44 Upon  my  word,"  cried  he,  4tl  thought  I 
had  seen  wonders  before  to-day,  hydras  with 
nine  heads,  stags  with  golden  horns,  six-legged 
men,  three-headed  dogs,  giants  with  furnaces 
in  their  stomachs,  and  nobody  knows  what 
besides.  But  here,  on  the  palm  of  my  hand, 
stands  a  wonder  that  out-does  them  all !  Your 
body,  my  little  friend,  is  about  the  size  of  an 
ordinary  man's  finger.  Pray,  how  big  may 
your  soul  be?" 

44  As  big  as  your  own!"  said  the  Pygmy. 

Hercules  was  touched  with  the  little  man's 
dauntless  courage,  and  could  not  help  acknowl 
edging  such  a  brotherhood  with  him  as  one 
hero  feels  for  another. 

44 My  good  little  people,"  said  he,  making  a 


tANGLEVVOOD  TALES.  95 

low  obeisance  to  the  grand  nation,  "not  for  all 
the  world  would  I  do  an  intentional  injury  to 
such  brave  fellows  as  you.  Your  hearts  seem 
to  me  so  exceedingly  great,  that,  upon  my 
honor,  I  marvel  how  your  small  bodies  can 
contain  them.  I  sue  for  peace,  and,  as  a  con 
dition  of  it,  will  take  five  strides  and  be  out  of 
your  kingdom  at  the  sixth.  Good-by.  I  shall 
pick  my  steps  carefully,  for  fear  of  treading 
upon  some  fifty  of  you,  without  knowing  it. 
Ha,  ha,  ha!  Ho,  ho,  ho!  For  once  Hercules 
acknowledges  himself  vanquished. ' ' 

Some  writers  say,  that  Hercules  gathered  up 
the  whole  race  of  Pygmies  in  his  lion's  skin, 
and  carried  them  to  Greece,  for  the  children  of 
King  Eurystheus  to  play  with.  But  this  is  a 
mistake.  He  left  them,  one  and  all,  within 
their  own  territory,  where,  for  aught  I  can 
tell,  their  descendants  are  alive  to  the  present 
day,  building  their  little  houses,  cultivating 
their  little  fields,  spanking  their  little  children, 
waging  their  little  warfare  with  the  cranes, 
doing  their  little  business,  whatever  it  may  be, 
and  reading  their  little  histories  of  ancient 
times.  In  those  histories,  perhaps,  it  stands 
recorded,  that,  a  great  many  centuries  ago, 
the  valiant  Pygmies  avenged  the  death  of  the 
Giant  Antaeus  by  scaring  away  the  mighty 
Hercules. 


96  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 


THE  DRAGON'S  TEETH, 


Cadmus,  Phoenix,  and  Cilix,  the  three  sons 
of  King  Agenor,  and  their  little  sister  Europa 
(who  was  a  very  beautiful  child),  were  at  play 
together,  near  the  seashore,  in  their  father's 
kingdom  of  Phoenicia.  They  had  rambled  to 
some  distance  from  the  palace  where  their 
parents  dwelt,  and  were  now  in  a  verdant 
meadow,  on  one  side  of  which  lay  the  sea,  all 
sparkling  and  dimpling  in  the  sunshine,  and 
murmuring  gently  against  the  beach.  The 
three  boys  were  very  happy,  gathering  flowers, 
and  twining  them  into  garlands,  with  which 
they  adorned  the  little  Europa.  Seated  on  the 
grass,  the  child  was  almost  hidden  under  an 
abundance  of  buds  and  blossoms,  whence  her 
rosy  face  peeped  merrily  out,  and,  as  Cadmus 
said,  was  the  prettiest  of  all  the  flowers. 

Just  then,  there  came  a  splendid  butterfly, 
fluttering  along  the  meadow;  and  Cadmus, 
Pheonix,  and  Cilix  set  off  in  pursuit  of  it.  cry 
ing  out  that  it  was  a  flower  with  wings. 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  97 

Europa,  who  was  a  little  wearied  with  playing 
all  day  long,  did  not  chase  the  butterfly  with 
her  brothers,  but  sat  still  where  they  had  left 
her,  and  closed  her  eyes.  For  a  while,  she 
listened  to  the  pleasant  murmur  of  the  sea, 
which  was  like  a  voice  saying  "Hush!"  and 
bidding  her  go  to  sleep.  But  the  pretty  child, 
if  she  slept  at  all,  could  not  have  slept  more 
than  a  moment,  when  she  heard  something 
trample  on  the  grass,  not  far  from  her,  and 
peeping  out  from  the  heap  of  flowers,  beheld  a 
snow-white  bull. 

And  whence  could  this  bull  have  come? 
Europa  and  her  brothers  had  been  a  long  time 
playing  in  the  meadow,  and  had  seen  no  cattle, 
nor  other  living  thing,  either  there  or  on  the 
neighboring  hills. 

44 Brother  Cadmus!"  cried  Europa,  starting 
up  out  of  the  midst  of  the  roses  and  lilies. 
44  Phoenix  !  Cilix  !  Where  are  you  all? 
Help!  Help!  Come  and  drive  away  this 
bull!" 

But  her  brothers  were  too  far  off  to  hear: 
especially  as  the  fright  took  away  Europa's 
voice,  and  hindered  her  from  calling  very 
loudly.  So  there  she  stood,  with  her  pretty 
mouth  wide  open,  as  pale  as  the  white  lilies 

7    Tanglcwood  Tales 


98  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

that  were  twisted  among  the  other  flowers  in 
her  garlands. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  the  suddenness  with 
which  had  she  perceived  the  bull,  rather  than 
any  thingf  rightful  in  his  appearance,  that  caused 
Europa  so  much  alarm.  On  looking  at  him 
more  attentively,  she  began  to  see  that  he  was 
a  beautiful  animal,  and  even  fancied  a  partic 
ularly  amiable  expression  in  his  face.  As  for 
his  breath — the  breath  of  cattle,  you  know,  is 
always  sweet — it  was  as  fragrant  as  if  he  had 
been  grazing  on  no  other  food  than  rosebuds, 
or,  at  least,  the  most  delicate  of  clover  blos 
soms.  Never  before  did  a  bull  have  such 
bright  and  tender  eyes,  and  such  smooth  horns 
of  ivory  as  this  one.  And  the  bull  ran  little 
races,  and  capered  sportively  around  the  child ; 
so  that  she  quite  forgot  how  big  and  strong  he 
was,  and,  from  the  gentleness  and  playfulness 
of  his  actions,  soon  came  to  consider  him  as 
innocent  a  creature  as  a  pet  lamb. 

Thus,  frightened  as  she  at  first  was,  you 
might  by  and  by  have  seen  Europa  stroking 
the  bull's  forehead  with  her  small  white  hand, 
and  taking  the  garlands  off  her  own  head  to 
hand  them  on  his  neck  and  ivory  horns.  Then 
she  pulled  up  some  blades  of  grass,  and  he  ate 
them  out  of  her  hand,  not  as  if  he  were  hungry, 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  99 

but  because  he  wanted  to  be  friends  with  the 
child,  and  took  pleasure  in  eating  what  she 
had  touched.  Well,  my  stars!  was  there  ever 
such  a  gentle,  sweet,  pretty  and  amiable  crea 
ture  as  this  bull,  and  ever  such  a  nice  playmate 
for  a  little  girl? 

When  the  animal  saw  (for  the  bull  had  so 
much  intelligence  that  it  is  really  wonderful  to 
think  of),  when  he  saw  that  Europa  was  no 
longer  afraid  of  him,  he  grew  overjoyed,  and 
could  hardly  contain  himself  for  delight.  He 
frisked  about  the  meadow,  now  here,  now 
there,  making  sprightly  leaps,  with  as  little 
effort  as  a  bird  expends  in  hopping  from  twig 
to  twig.  Indeed,  his  motion  was  as  light  as 
if  he  were  flying  through  the  air,  and  his  hoofs 
seemed  hardly  to  leave  their  print  in  the 
grassy  soil  over  which  he  trod.  With  his  spot 
less  hue,  he  resembled  a  snowdrift,  wafted 
along  by  the  wind.  Once  he  galloped  so  far 
away  that  Europa  feared  lest  she  might  never 
see  him  again;  so,  setting  up  her  childish 
voice,  she  called  him  back. 

44 Come   back,    pretty   creature!"   she  cried 
"Here  is  a  nice  clover-blossom." 

And  then  it  was  delightful  to  witness  the 
gratitude  of  this  amiable  bull,  and  how  he  was 
so  full  of  joy  and  thankfulness  that  he  capered 


100  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

higher  than  ever.  He  came  running,  and 
bowed  his  head  before  Europa  as  if  he  knew 
her  to  be  a  king's  daughter,  or  else  recognized 
the  important  truth  that  a  little  girl  is  every 
body's  queen.  And  not  only  did  the  bull  bend 
his  neck,  he  absolutely  knelt  down  at  her  feet, 
and  made  such  intelligent  nods,  and  other 
inviting  gestures,  that  Europa  understood  what 
he  meant  just  as  well  as  if  he  had  put  it  into  so 
many  words. 

4 Tome,  dear  child,"  was  what  he  wanted  to 
say,  "let  me  give  you  a  ride  on  my  back. " 

At  the  first  thought  of  such  a  thing  Europa 
drew  back.  But  then  she  considered  in  her 
wise  little  head  that  there  could  be  no  possible 
harm  in  taking  just  one  gallop  on  the  back  of 
this  docile  and  friendly  animal,  who  would 
certainly  set  her  down  the  very  instant  she 
desired  it.  And  how  it  would  surprise  her 
brothers  to  see  her  riding  across  the  green 
meadow!  And  what  merry  times  they  might 
have,  either  taking  turns  for  a  gallop,  or  clam 
bering  on  the  gentle  creature,  all  four  children 
together,  and  careering  around  the  field  with 
shouts  of  laughter  that  would  be  heard  as  far 
off  as  King  Agenor's  palace! 

64 1  think  I  will  do  it,"  said  the  child  to  her 
self. 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  101 

And,  indeed,  why  not?  She  cast  a  glance 
around,  and  caught  a  glimpse  of  Cadmus, 
Phoenix,  and  Cilix,  who  were  still  in  pursuit 
of  the  butterfly,  almost  at  the  other  end  of  the 
meadow.  It  would  be  the  quickest  way  of 
rejoining  them,  to  get  upon  the  white  bull's 
back.  She  came  a  step  nearer  to  him,  there 
fore;  and — sociable  creature  that  he  was — he 
showed  so  much  joy  at  this  mark  of  her  con 
fidence,  that  the  child  could  not  find  it  in  her 
heart  to  hesitate  any  longer.  Making  one 
bound  (for  this  little  princess  was  as  active  as 
a  squirrel),  there  sat  Europa  on  the  beautiful 
bull,  holding  an  ivory  horn  in  each  hand,  lest 
she  should  fall  off. 

" Softly,  pretty  bull,  softly!"  she  said,  rather 
frightened  at  what  she  had  done.  <4 Do  not 
gallop  too  fast/' 

Having  got  the  child  on  his  back,  the  ani 
mal  gave  a  leap  into  the  air,  and  came  down  so 
like  a  feather  that  Europa  did  not  know  when 
his  hoofs  touched  the  ground.  He  then  began 
a  race  to  that  part  of  the  flowery  plain  where 
her  three  brothers  were,  and  where  they  had 
just  caught  their  splendid  butterfly.  Europa 
screamed  with  delight ;  and  Pheonix,  Cilix  and 
Cadmus  stood  gaping  at  the  spectacle  of  their 
sister  mounted  on  a  white  bull,  not  knowing 


102  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

whether  to  be  frightened  or  to  wish  the  same 
good  luck  for  themselves.  The  gentle  and 
innocent  creature  (for  who  could  possibly 
doubt  that  he  was  so?)  pranced  round  among 
the  children  as  sportively  as  a  kitten.  Europa 
all  the  while  looked  down  upon  her  brothers, 
nodding  and  laughing,  but  yet  with  a  sort  of 
stateliness  in  her  rosy  little  face.  As  the  bull 
wheeled  about  to  take  another  gallop  across 
the  meadow,  the  child  waved  her  hand,  and 
said,  <lGood-by,"  playfully  pretending  that  she 
was  now  bound  on  a  distant  journey,  and  might 
not  see  her  brothers  again  for  nobody  could  tell 
how  long. 

44 Good  by,"  shouted  Cadmus,  Pheonix  and 
Cilix,  all  in  one  breath. 

But,  together  with  her  enjoyment  of  the 
sport,  there  was  still  a  little  remnant  of  fear  in 
the  child's  heart;  so  that  her  last  look  at  the 
three  boys  was  a  troubled  one,  and  made  them 
feel  as  if  their  dear  sister  were  really  leaving 
them  forever.  And  what  do  you  think  the 
snowy  bull  did  next?  Why,  he  set  off,  as  swift 
as  the  wind,  straight  down  to  the  sea  shore, 
scampered  across  the  sand,  took  an  airy  leap, 
and  plunged  right  in  among  the  foaming  bil 
lows.  The  white  spray  rose  in  a  shower  ove* 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  103 

him  and  little  Europa,  and  fell  spattering  down 
upon  the  water. 

Then  what  a  scream  of  terror  did  the  poor 
child  send  forth !  The  three  brothers  screamed 
manfully,  likewise,  and  ran  to  the  shore  as  fast 
as  their  legs  would  carry  them,  with  Cadmus 
at  their  head.  But  it  was  too  late.  When 
they  reached  the  margin  of  the  sand,  the 
treacherous  animal  was  already  far  away  in 
the  wide  blue  sea,  with  only  his  snowy  head 
and  tail  emerging,  and  poor  little  Europa 
between  them,  stretching  out  one  hand  towards 
her  dear  brothers,  while  she  grasped  the  bull's 
ivory  horn  with  the  other.  And  there  stood 
Cadmus,  Phoenix  and  Cilix,  gazing  at  this  sad 
spectacle,  through  their  tears,  until  they  could 
no  longer  distinguish  the  bull's  snowy  head 
from  the  white-capped  billows  that  seemed  to 
boil  up  out  of  the  sea's  depths  around  him. 
Nothing  more  was  ever  seen  of  the  white  bull 
— nothing  more  of  the  beautiful  child. 

This  was  a  mournful  story,  as  you  may  well 
think,  for  the  three  boys  to  carry  home  to 
their  parents.  King  Agenor,  their  father,  was 
a  ruler  of  the  whole  country ;  but  he  loved  his 
little  daughter  Europa  better  than  his  king 
dom,  or  than  all  his  other  children,  or  than 
anything  else  in  the  world.  Therefore,  when 


104  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

Cadmus  and  his  two  brothers  came  crying 
home,  and  told  him  how  that  a  white  bull  had 
carried  off  their  sister,  and  swam  with  her 
over  the  sea,  the  king  was  quite  beside  himself 
with  grief  and  rage.  Although  it  was  now 
twilight,  and  fast  growing  dark,  he  bade  them 
set  out  instantly  in  search  of  her. 

44 Never  shall  you  see  my  face  again/'  he 
cried,  " unless  you  bring  me  back  my  little 
Europa,  to  gladden  me  with  her  smiles  and  her 
pretty  ways.  Begone,  and  enter  my  presence 
no  more,  till  you  come  leading  her  by  the 
hand/' 

As  King  Agenor  said  this,  his  eyes  flashed 
fire  (for  he  was  a  very  passionate  king),  and 
he  looked  so  terribly  angry  that  the  poor  boys 
did  not  even  venture  to  ask  for  their  suppers, 
but  slunk  away  out  of  the  palace,  and  only 
paused  on  the  steps  a  moment  to  consult 
whither  they  should  go  first.  While  they 
were  standing  there,  all  in  dismay,  their 
mother,  Queen  Telephassa  (who  happened  not 
to  be  by  when  they  told  the  story  to  the  king), 
came  hurrying  after  them,  and  said  that  she, 
too,  would  go  in  quest  of  her  daughter. 

"Oh,  no,  mother!"  cried  the  boys.  "The 
night  is  dark,  and  there  is  no  knowing  what 
troubles  and  perils  we  may  meet  with," 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  105 

"Alas!  my  dear  children,"  answered  poor 
Queen  Telephassa,  weeping  bitterly,  "that  is 
only  another  reason  why  I  should  go  with  you. 
If  I  should  lose  you,  too,  as  well  as  my  little 
Europa,  what  would  become  of  me?*' 

"And  let  me  go  likewise!"  said  their  play 
fellow  Thasus,  who  came  running  to  join  them. 

Thasus  was  the  son  of  a  seafaring  person  in 
the  neighborhood;  he  had  been  brought  up 
with  the  young  princes,  and  was  their  intimate 
friend,  and  loved  Europa  very  much ;  so  they 
consented  that  he  should  accompany  them. 
The  whole  party,  therefore,  set  forth  together; 
Cadmus,  Phoenix,  Cilix  and  Thasus  clustered 
around  Queen  Telephassa,  grasping  her  skirts, 
and  begging  her  to  lean  upon  their  shoulders 
whenever  she  felt  weary.  In  this  manner  they 
went  down  the  palace  steps,  and  began  a 
journey  which  turned  out  to  be  a  great  deal 
longer  than  they  dreamed  of.  The  last  that 
they  saw  of  King  Agenor,  he  came  to  the  door, 
with  a  servant  holding  a  torch  beside  him,  and 
called  after  them  into  the  gathering  darkness : — 

"Remember!  Never  ascend  these  steps 
again  without  the  child ! ' ' 

"Never!"  sobbed  Queen  Telephassa;  and 
the  three  brothers  and  Thasus  answered, 
"Never!  Never!  Never!  Never!" 


106  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

And  they  kept  their  word.  Year  after  year 
King  Agenor  sat  in  the  solitude  of  his  beauti 
ful  palace,  listening  in  vain  for  their  returning 
footsteps,  hoping  to  hear  the  familiar  voice  of 
the  queen,  and  the  cheerful  talk  of  his  sons 
and  their  playfellow  Thasus,  entering  the 
door  together,  and  the  sweet,  childish  accents 
of  little  Europa  in  the  midst  of  them.  But  so 
long  a  time  went  by  that,  at  last  if  they  had 
really  come,  the  king  would  not  have  known 
that  this  was  the  voice  of  Telephassa,  and 
these  the  younger  voices  that  used  to  make 
such  joyful  echoes  when  the  children  were 
playing  about  the  palace.  We  must  now  leave 
King  Agenor  to  sit  on  his  throne,  and  must  go 
along  with  Queen  Telephassa  and  her  four 
youthful  companions. 

They  went  on  and  on,  and  traveled  a  long 
way,  and  passed  over  mountains  and  rivers, 
and  sailed  over  seas.  Here,  and  there,  and 
everywhere,  they  made  continual  inquiry  if 
any  person  could  tell  them  what  had  become 
of  Europa.  The  rustic  people,  of  whom  they 
asked  this  question,  paused  a  little  while  from 
their  labors  in  the  field,  and  looked  very  much 
surprised.  They  thought  it  strange  to  behold 
a  woman  in  the  garb  of  a  queen  (for  Tele 
phassa,  in  her  haste,  had  forgotten  to  take  off 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  107 

her  crown  and  her  royal  robes)  roaming  about 
the  country,  with  four  lads  around  her,  on 
such  an  errand  as  this  seemed  to  be.  But 
nobody  could  give  them  any  tidings  of  Europa; 
nobody  had  seen  a  little  girl  dressed  like  a 
princess,  and  mounted  on  a  snow-white  bull, 
which  galloped  as  swiftly  as  the  wind. 

I  cannot  tell  you  how  long  Queen  Tele- 
phassa,  and  Cadmus,  Phoenix,  and  Cilix,  her 
three  sons,  and  Thasus,  their  playfellow,  went 
wandering  along  the  highways  and  bypaths,  or 
through  the  pathless  wilderness  of  the  earth, 
in  this  manner.  But  certain  it  is  that,  before 
they  reached  any  place  of  rest,  their  splendid 
garments  were  quite  worn  out.  They  all 
looked  very  much  travel-stained  and  would 
have  had  the  dust  of  many  countries  on  their 
shoes,  if  the  streams,  through  which  they 
waded,  had  not  washed  it  all  away.  When 
they  had  been  gone  a  year,  Telephassa  threw 
away  her  crown,  because  it  chafed  her  fore 
head. 

l<It  has  given  me  many  a  headache,"  said 
the  poor  queen,  I4and  it  cannot  cure  my  heart 
ache." 

As  fast  as  their  princely  robes  got  torn  and 
tattered  they  exchanged  them  for  such  mean 
attire  as  ordinary  people  wore.  By  and  by 


108  TANGLEWOOD  TALES, 

they  came  to  have  a  wild  and  homeless  aspect; 
so  that  you  would  much  sooner  have  taken 
them  for  a  gypsy  family  than  a  queen  and 
three  princes,  and  a  young  nobleman,  who  had 
once  a  palace  for  their  home,  and  a  train  of 
servants  to  do  their  bidding.  The  four  boys 
grew  up  to  be  tall  young  men,  with  sunburnt 
faces.  Each  of  them  girded  on  a  sword  to  de 
fend  themselves  against  the  perils  of  the  way. 
When  the  husbandman,  at  whose  farm-houses 
they  sought  hospitality,  needed  their  assistance 
in  the  harvest-field,  they  gave  it  willingly; 
and  Queen  Telephassa  (who  had  done  no  work 
in  her  palace,  save  to  braid  silk  threads  with 
golden  ones)  came  behind  them  to  bind  the 
sheaves.  If  payment  was  offered  they  shook 
their  heads,  and  only  asked  for  tidings  of 
Europa. 

"There  are  bulls  enough  in  my  pasture, "  the 
old  farmers  would  reply,  "but  I  never  heard  of 
one  like  this  you  tell  me  of.  A  snow-white 
bull  with  a  little  princess  on  his  back!  Ho! 
ho!  I  ask  your  pardon,  good  folks;  but  there 
never  was  such  a  sight  seen  hereabouts. ' ' 

At  last,  when  his  upper  lip  began  to  have 
the  down  on  it,  Phoenix  grew  weary  of  ram 
bling  hither  and  thither  to  no  purpose.  So, 
one  day,  when  they  happened  to  be  passing 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  109 

through  a  pleasant  and  solitary  tract  of 
country,  he  sat  himself  down  on  a  heap  of 
moss. 

"lean  go  no  farther,"  said  Phoenix.  "It 
is  a  mere  foolish  waste  of  life,  to  spend  it  as 
we  do,  in  always  wandering  up  and  down,  and 
never  coming  to  any  home  at  nightfall.  Our 
sister  is  lost,  and  never  will  be  found.  She 
probably  perished  in  the  sea,  or  to  whatever 
shore  the  white  bull  may  have  carried  her;  it 
is  now  so  many  years  ago  that  there  would  be 
neither  love  nor  acquaintance  between  us 
should  we  meet  again.  My  father  has  forbid 
den  us  to  return  to  his  palace ;  so  I  shall  build 
me  a  hut  of  branches  and  dwell  there." 

"Well,  son  Phoenix,"  said  Telephassa,  sor 
rowfully,  "you  have  grown  to  be  a  man,  and 
must  do  as  you  judge  best ;  but  for  my  part,  1 
will  still  go  in  quest  of  my  poor  child." 

"And  we  three  will  go  along  with  you!" 
cried  Cadmus  and  Cilix,  and  their  faithful 
friend  Thasus. 

But,  before  setting  out,  they  all  helped 
Phoenix  to  build  a  habitation.  When  com 
pleted,  it  was  a  sweet  rural  bower,  roofed  over 
head  with  an  arch  of  living  boughs.  Inside 
there  were  two  pleasant  rooms,  one  of  which 
had  a  soft  heap  of  moss  for  a  bed,  while  the 


110  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

other  was  furnished  with  a  rustic  seat  or  two, 
curiously  fashioned  out  of  the  crooked  roots 
of  trees.  So  comfortable  and  homelike  did  it 
seem  that  Telephassa  and  her  three  companions 
could  not  help  sighing,  to  think  that  they 
must  still  roam  about  the  world  instead  of 
spending  the  remainder  of  their  lives  in  some 
such  cheerful  abode  as  they  had  here  built  for 
Phoenix.  But,  when  they  bade  him  farewell, 
Phoenix  shed  tears,  and  probably  regretted 
that  he  was  no  longer  to  keep  them  company. 
However,  he  had  fixed  upon  an  admirable 
place  to  dwell  in.  And  by  and  by  there  came 
other  people,  who  chanced  to  have  no  homes; 
and,  seeing  how  pleasant  a  spot  it  was,  they 
built  themselves  huts  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Phoenix's  habitation.  Thus,  before  many 
years  went  by,  a  city  had  grown  up  there,  in 
the  center  of  which  was  seen  a  stately  palace 
of  marble,  wherein  dwelt  Phoenix,  clothed  in 
a  purple  robe,  and  wearing  a  golden  crown 
upon  his  head.  For  the  inhabitants  of  the  new 
city,  finding  that  he  had  royal  blood  in  his 
veins,  had  chosen  him  to  be  their  king.  The 
very  first  decree  of  state  which  King  Phoenix 
issued  was,  that  if  a  maiden  happened  to  ar 
rive  in  the  kingdom  mounted  on  a  snow-white 
bull,  and  calling  herself  Europa,  his  subjects 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  Ill 

should  treat  her  with  the  greatest  kindness  and 
respect,  and  immediately  bring  her  to  the  pal 
ace.  You  may  see,  by  this,  that  Phoenix's 
conscience  never  .quite  ceased  to  trouble  him 
for  giving  up  the  quest  of  his  dear  sister,  and 
sitting  himself  down  to  be  comfortable,  while 
his  mother  and  her  companions  went  onward. 

But  often  and  often,  at  the  close  of  a  weary 
day's  journey,  did  Telephassa  and  Cadmus, 
Cilix  and  Thasus  remember  the  pleasant  spot 
in  which  they  had  left  Phoenix.  It  was  a  sor 
rowful  prospect  for  these  wanderers,  that  on 
the  morrow  they  must  again  set  forth,  and 
that,  after  many  nightfalls,  they  would  per 
haps  be  no  nearer  the  close  of  their  toilsome 
pilgrimage  than  now.  These  thoughts  made 
them  all  melancholy  at  times,  but  appeared  to 
torment  Cilix  more  than  the  rest  of  the  party. 
At  length,  one  morning,  when  .they  were 
taking  their  staffs  in  hand  to  set  out,  he  thus 
addressed  them : — 

4 'My  dear  mother,  and  you  good  brother 
Cadmus,  and  my  friend  Thasus,  methinks  we 
are  like  people  in  a  dream.  There  is  no  sub 
stance  in  the  life  which  we  are  leading.  It  is 
such  a  dreary  length  of  time  since  the  white 
bull  carried  off  my  sister  Europa,  that  I  have 
quite  forgotten  how  she  looked,  and  the  tones 


112  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

of  her  voice,  and,  indeed,  almost  doubt 
whether  such  a  little  girl  ever  lived  in  the 
world.  And  whether  she  once  lived  or  no,  I 
am  convinced  that  she  no  longer  survives,  and 
that  therefore  it  is  the  merest  folly  to  waste  our 
own  lives  and  happiness  in  seeking  her.  Were 
we  to  find  her,  she  would  now  be  a  woman 
grown,  and  would  look  upon  us  all  as  strang 
ers.  So,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  have  resolved 
to  take  up  my  abode  here ;  and  I  entreat  you, 
mother,  brother,  and  friend,  to  follow  my 
example. ' ' 

44 Not  I  for  one,"  said  Telephassa;  although 
the  poor  queen,  firmly  as  she  spoke,  was  so 
travel- worn  that  she  could  hardly  put  her  foot 
to  the  ground — "not  I,  for  one !  In  the  depths 
of  my  heart,  little  Europa  is  still  the  rosy 
child  who  ran  to  gather  flowers  so  many  years 
ago.  She  has  not  grown  to  womanhood,  nor 
forgotten  me.  At  noon,  at  night,  journeying 
onward,  sitting  down  to  rest,  her  childish  voice 
is  always  in  my  ears  calling,  ' Mother!  mother!* 
Stop  here  who  may,  there  is  no  repose  for  me. " 

"Nor  for  me, "  said  Cadmus,  "while  my  dear 
mother  pleases  to  go  onward. " 

And  the  faithful  Thasus,  too,  was  resolved 
to  bear  them  company.  They  remained  with 
Cilix  a  few  days,  however,  and  helped  him  to 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  113 

build  a  rustic  bower,  resembling  the  one  which 
they  had  formerly  built  for  Phoenix. 

When  they  were  bidding  him  farewell,  Cilix 
burst  into  tears,  and  told  his  mother  that  it 
seemed  just  as  melancholy  a  dream  to  stay 
there,  in  solitude,  as  to  go  onward.  If  she 
really  believed  that  they  would  ever  find  Eu- 
ropa,  he  was  willing  to  continue  the  search  with 
them,  even  now.  But  Telephassa  bade  him 
remain  there,  and  be  happy,  if  his  own  heart 
would  let  him.  So  the  pilgrims  took  their 
leave  of  him,  and  departed,  and  were  hardly 
out  of  sight  before  some  other  wandering 
people  came  along  that  way  and  saw  Cilix 's 
habitation,  and  were  greatly  delighted  with 
the  appearance  of  the  place.  There  being 
abundance  of  unoccupied  ground  in  the  neigh 
borhood,  these  strangers  built  huts  for  them 
selves,  and  were  soon  joined  by  a  multitude  of 
new  settlers,  who  quickly  formed  a  city.  In  the 
middle  of  it  was  seen  a  magnificent  palace  of 
colored  marble,  on  the  balcony  of  which,  every 
noontide,  appeared  Cilix,  in  a  long  purple 
robe,  and  with  a  jeweled  crown  upon  his 
head ;  for  the  inhabitants,  when  they  found 
out  that  he  was  a  king's  son,  had  considered 
him  the  fittest  of  all  men  to  be  a  king  himself. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  King  Cilix's  govern- 

8    Tanglewood  Tales 


114  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

ment  was  to  send  out  an  expedition  consisting 
of  a  grave  ambassador  and  an  escort  of  bold 
and  hardy  young  men,  with  orders  to  visit  the 
principal  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  and  inquire 
whether  a  young  maiden  had  passed  through 
those  regions,  galloping  swiftly  on  a  white 
bull.  It  is,  therefore,  plain  to  my  mind,  that 
Cilix  secretly  blamed  himself  for  giving  up 
the  search  for  Europa,  as  long  as  he  was  able 
to  put  one  foot  before  the  other. 

As  for  Telephassa,  and  Cadmus,  and  the 
good  Thasus,  it  grieves  me  to  think  of  them, 
still  keeping  up  that  weary  pilgrimage.  The 
two  young  men  did  their  best  for  the  poor 
queen,  helping  her  over  the  rough  places, 
often  carrying  her  across  rivulets  in  their 
faithful  arms,  and  seeking  to  shelter  her  at 
nightfall,  even  when  they' themselves  lay  on 
the  ground.  Sad,  sad  it  was  to  hear  them  ask 
ing  of  every  passer-by  if  he  had  seen  Europa, 
so  long  after  the  white  bull  had  carried  her 
away.  But,  though  the  gray  years  thrust 
themselves  between,  and  made  the  child's 
figure  dim  in  their  remembrance,  neither  of 
these  true-hearted  three  ever  dreamed  of  giv 
ing  up  the  search. 

One  morning,  however,  poor  Thasus  found 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  115 

that  he  had  sprained  his  ankle,  and  could  not 
possibly  go  a  step  farther. 

4  *  After  a  few  days,  to  be  sure,"  said  he 
mournfully,  "I  might  make  shift  to  hobble 
along  with  a  stick.  But  that  would  only  delay 
you,  and  perhaps  hinder  you  from  finding 
dear  little  Europa,  after  all  your  pains  and 
trouble.  Do  you  go  forward,  therefore,  my 
beloved  companions,  and  leave  me  to  follow 
as  I  may." 

4 'Thou  hast  been  a  true  friend,  dear  Thasus, 
said  Queen  Telephassa,  kissing  his  forehead. 
4 'Being  neither  my  son,  nor  the  brother  of  our 
lost  Europa,  thou  hast  shown  thyself  truer  to 
me  and  her  than  Phoenix  and  Cilix  did,  whom 
we  have  left  behind  us.  Without  thy  loving 
help,  and  that  of  my  son  Cadmus,  my  limbs 
could  not  have  borne  me  half  so  far  as  this. 
Now,  take  thy  rest,  and  be  at  peace.  For — 
and  it  is  the  first  time  I  have  owned  it  to  my 
self — I  begin  to  question  whether  we  shall 
ever  find  my  beloved  daughter  in  this 
world. ' ' 

Saying  this,  the  poor  queen  shed  tears,  be 
cause  it  was  a  grievous  trial  to  the  mother's 
heart  to  confess  that  her  hopes  were  growing 
faint.  From  that  day  forward,  Cadmus  noticed 
that  she  never  traveled  with  the  same  alacrity 


116  tANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

of  spirit  that  had  heretofore  supported  her. 
Her  weight  was  heavier  upon  his  arm. 

Before  setting  out,  Cadmus  helped  Thasus 
build  a  bower;  while  Telephassa,  being  too 
infirm  to  give  any  great  assistance,  advised 
them  how  to  fit  it  up  and  furnish  it,  so  that  it 
might  be  as  comfortable  as  a  hut  of  branches 
could.  Thasus,  however,  did  not  spend  all 
his  days  in  this  green  bower.  For  it  happened 
to  him,  as  to  Phoenix  and  Cilix,  that  other 
homeless  people  visited  the  spot  and  liked  it, 
and  built  themselves  habitations  in  the  neigh 
borhood.  So  here,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years,  was  another  thriving  city  with  a  red 
freestone  palace  in  the  center  of  it,  where 
Thasus  sat  upon  a  throne,  doing  justice  to  the 
people,  with  a  purple  robe  over  his  shoulders, 
a  sceptre  in  his  hand,  and  a  crown  upon  his 
head.  The  inhabitants  had  made  him  king, 
not  for  the  sake  of  any  royal  blood  (for  none 
was  in  his  veins),  but  because  Thasus  was  an 
upright,  true-hearted,  and  courageous  man, 
and  therefore  fit  to  rule. 

But,  when  the  affairs  of  his  kingdom  were 
all  settled,  King  Thasus  laid  aside  his  purple 
robe,  and  crown,  and  sceptre,  and  bade  his 
worthiest  subject  distribute  justice  to  the 
people  in  his  stead.  Then  grasping  the  pil- 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  117 

Brims'  staff  that  had  supported  him  so  long,  he 
^ct  forth  again,  hoping  still  to  discover  some 
hoof-mark  of  the  snow-white  bull,  some  trace 
of  the  vanished  child.  He  returned,  after  a 
lengthened  absence,  andt6at  down  wearily  upon 
his  throne.  To  his  latest  hour,  nevertheless, 
King  Thasus  showed  his  true-hearted  remem 
brance  of  Europa,  by  ordering  that  a  fire 
should  always  be  kept  burning  in  his  palace, 
and  a  bath  steaming  hot,  and  food  ready  to  be 
served  up,  and  a  bed  with  snow-white  sheets, 
in  case  the  maiden  should  arrive  and  require 
immediate  refreshment.  And  though  Europa 
never  came,  the  good  Thasus  had  the  blessings 
of  many  a  poor  traveler,  who  profited  by  the 
food  and  lodging  which  were  meant  for  the 
little  playmate  of  the  king's  boyhood. 

Telephassa  and  Cadmus  were  now  pursuing 
their  weary  way,  with  no  companion  but  each 
other.  The  queen  leaned  heavily  upon  her 
son's  arm,  and  could  walk  only  a  few  miles  a 
day.  But  for  all  her  weakness  and  weariness, 
she  would  not  be  persuaded  to  give  up  the 
search.  It  was  enough  to  bring  tears  into  the 
eyes  of  bearded  men  to  hear  the  melancholy 
tone  with  which  she  inquired  of  every  stranger 
whether  he  could  tell  her  any  news  of  the  lost 
child. 


118  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

"Have  you  seen  a  little  girl — no,  no,  I  mean 
a  young  maiden  of  full  growth — passing  by 
this  way,  mounted  on  a  snow-white  bull,  which 
gallops  as  swiftly  as  the  wind?" 

4 'We  have  seen  nonsuch  wondrous  sight," 
the  people  would  reply;  and  very  often,  taking 
Cadmus  aside,  they  whispered  to  him,  "Is  this 
stately  and  sad-looking  woman  your  mother? 
Surely  she  is  not  in  her  right  mind;  and  you 
ought  to  take  her  home,  and  make  her  comfort 
able,  and  do  your  best  to  get  this  dream  out  of 
her  fancy. ' ' 

44 It  is  no  dream,0  said  Cadmus.  "Every 
thing  else  is  a  dream,  save  that." 

But,  one  day,  Telephassa  seemed  feebler 
than  usual,  and  leaned  almost  her  whole  weight 
on  the  arm  of  Cadmus,  and  walked  more 
slowly  than  ever  before.  At  last  they  reached 
a  solitary  spot,  where  she  told  her  son  that  she 
must  needs  lie  down,  and  take  a  good,  long 
rest. 

"A  good,  long  rest!"  she  repeated,  looking 
Cadmus  tenderly  in  the  face — "a  good,  long 
rest,  thou  dearest  one!" 

"As  long  as  you  please,  dear  mother," 
answered  Cadmus. 

Telephassa  bade  him  sit  down  on  the  turf 
beside  her,  and  then  she  took  his  hand. 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  119 

1  'My  son,"  said  she,  fixing  her  dim  eyes 
most  lovingly  upon  him,  "this  rest  that  I  speak 
of  will  be  very  long  indeed!  You  must  not 
wait  till  it  is  finished.  Dear  Cadmus,  you  do 
not  comprehend  me.  You  must  make  a  grave 
here,  and  lay  your  mother's  weary  frame  into 
it.  My  pilgrimage  is  over. " 

Cadmus  burst  into  tears,  and,  for  a  long 
time,  refused  to  believe  that  his  dear  mother 
was  now  to  be  taken  from  him.  But  Tele- 
phassa  reasoned  with  him,  and  kissed  him, 
and  at  length  made  him  discern  that  it  was 
better  for  her  spirit  to  pass  away  out  of  the 
toil,  the  weariness,  the  grief,  and  disappoint 
ment  which  had  burdened  her  on  earth,  ever 
since  the  child  was  lost.  He  therefore  re 
pressed  his  sorrow,  and  listened  to  her  last 
words. 

4 'Dearest  Cadmus,"  said  she,  "thou  hast  been 
the  truest  son  that  ever  mother  had,  and  faith 
ful  to  the  very  last.  Who  else  would  have 
borne  with  my  infirmities  as  thou  hast?  It  is 
owing  to  thy  care,  thou  tenderest  child,  that 
my  grave  was  not  dug  long  years  ago,  in  some 
valley,  or  on  some  hill-side,  that  lies  far,  far 
behind  us.  It  is  enough.  Thou  shalt  wander 
no  more  on  this  hopeless  search.  But  when 
thou  hast  laid  thy  mother  in  the  earth,  then 


120  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

go,  my  son,  to  Delphi,  and  inquire  of  the  oracle 
what  thou  shalt  do  next. " 

4<O  mother,  mother,"  cried  Cadmus,  "couldst 
thou  but  have  seen  my  sister  before  this  hour !" 

44 It  matters  little  now,"  answered  Tele- 
phassa,  and  there  was  a  smile  upon  her  face. 
"I  go  now  to  the  better  world,  and,  sooner  or 
later,  shall  find  my  daughter  there." 

I  will  not  sadden  you,  my  little  hearers,  with 
telling  how  Telephassa  died  and  was  buried, 
but  will  only  say,  that  her  dying  smile  grew 
brighter,  instead  of  vanishing  from  her  dead 
face;  so  that  Cadmus  felt  convinced  that,  at 
her  very  first  step  into  the  better  world,  she 
had  caught  Europa  in  her  arms.  He  planted 
some  flowers  on  his  mother's  grave,  and  left 
them  to  grow  there,  and  make  the  place  beauti 
ful,  when  he  should  be  far  away. 

After  performing  this  last  sorrowful  duty,  he 
set  forth  alone,  and  took  the  road  towards  the 
famous  oracle  of  Delphi,  as  Telephassa  had 
advised  him.  On  his  way  thither,  he  still 
inquired  of  most  people  whom  he  met  whether 
they  had  seen  Europa;  for,  to  say  the  truth, 
Cadmus  had  grown  so  accustomed  to  ask  the 
question,  that  it  came  to  his  lips  as  readily  as 
a  remark  about  the  weather.  He  received 
various  answers.  Some  told  him  one  thing, 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  121 

and  some  another.  Among  the  rest,  a  mariner 
affirmed,  that,  many  years  before,  in  a  distant 
country,  he  had  heard  a  rumor  about  a  white 
bull,  which  came  swimming  across  the  sea  with 
a  child  on  his  back,  dressed  up  in  flowers  that 
were  blighted  by  the  sea- water.  He  did  not 
know  what  had  become  of  the  child  or  the  bull ; 
and  Cadmus  suspected,  indeed,  by  a  queer 
twinkle  in  the  mariner's  eyes,  that  he  was 
putting  a  joke  upon  him,  and  had  never  really 
heard  anything  about  the  matter. 

Poor  Cadmus  found  it  more  wearisome  to 
travel  alone  than  to  bear  all  his  dear  mother's 
weight  while  she  had  kept  him  company.  His 
heart,  you  will  understand,  was  now  so  heavy 
that  it  seemed  impossible,  sometimes,  to  carry 
it  any  farther.  But  his  limbs  were  strong  and 
active  and  well  accustomed  to  exercise.  He 
walked  swiftly  along,  thinking  of  King  Agenor 
and  Queen  Telephassa,  and  his  brothers,  and 
the  friendly  Thasus,  all  of  whom  he  had  left  be 
hind  him,  at  one  point  of  his  pilgrimage  or  an 
other,  and  never  expected  to  see  them  any  more. 
Full  of  these  remembrances,  he  came  within 
sight  of  a  lofty  mountain,  which  the  people 
thereabouts  told  him  was  called  Parnassus. 
On  the  slope  of  Mount  Parnassus  was  the  fam 
ous  Delphi,  whither  Cadmus  was  going. 


22  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

This  Delphi  was  supposed  to  be  the  very 
midmost  spot  of  the  whole  world.  The  place 
of  the  oracle  was  a  certain  cavity  in  the  moun 
tain-side,  over  which,  when  Cadmus  came 
thither,  he  found  a  rude  bower  of  branches. 
It  reminded  him  of  those  which  he  had  helped 
to  build  for  Phoenix  and  Cilix,  and  afterwards 
for  Thasus.  In  later  times,  when  multitudes  of 
people  came  from  great  distances  to  put  ques 
tions  to  the  oracle,  a  spacious  temple  of  marble 
•was  erected  over  the  spot.  But  in  the  days  of 
Cadmus,  as  I  have  told  you,  there  was  only 
this  rustic  bower,  with  its  abundance  of  green 
foliage,  and  a  tuft  of  shrubbery,  that  ran  wild 
over  the  mysterious  hole  in  the  hill-side. 

When  Cadmus  had  thrust  a  passage  through 
the  tangled  boughs,  and  made  his  way  into  the 
bower,  he  did  not  at  first  discern  the  half- 
hidden  cavity.  But  soon  he  felt  a  cold  stream 
of  air  rushing  out  of  it,  with  so  much  force  that 
it  shook  the  ringlets  on  his  cheek.  Pulling  away 
the  shrubbery  which  clustered  over  the  hole, 
he  bent  forward,  and  spoke  in  a  distinct  but 
reverential  tone,  as  if  addressing  some  unseen 
personage  inside  of  the  mountain. 

6 'Sacred  oracle  of  Delphi, "  said  he,  "whither 
shall  I  go  next  in  quest  of  my  dear  sister 
Europa?" 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  123 

There  was  at  first  a  deep  silence,  and  then  a 
rushing  sound,  or  a  noise  like  a  long-  sigh,  pro 
ceeding  out  of  the  interior  of  the  earth.  This 
cavity,  you  must  know,  was  looked  upon  as  a 
sort  of  fountain  of  truth,  which  sometimes 
gushed  out  in  audible  words;  although,  for  the 
most  part,  these  words  were  such  a  riddle  that 
they  might  just  as  well  have  stayed  at  the  bot 
tom  of  the  hole.  But  Cadmus  was  more  for 
tunate  than  many  others  who  went  to  Delphi 
in  search  of  truth.  By  and  by,  the  rushing 
noise  began  to  sound  like  articulate  language. 
It  repeated,  over  and  over  again,  the  following 
sentence,  which,  after  all,  was  so  like  the  vague 
whistle  of  a  blast  of  air,  that  Cadmus  really  did 
not  quite  know  whether  it  meant  anything  or 
not:- — 

44 Seek  her  no  more!  Seek  her  no  more! 
Seek  her  no  more!" 

44 What,  then,  shall  I  do?"  asked  Cadmus. 

For,  ever  since  he  was  a  child,  you  know,  it 
had  been  the  great  object  of  his  life  to  find  his 
sister.  From  the  very  hour  that  he  left  fol 
lowing  the  butterfly  in  the  meadow,  near  his 
father's  palace,  he  had  done  his  best  to  follow 
Europa,  over  land  and  sea.  And  now,  if  he 
must  give  up  the  search,  he  seemed  to  have  no 
more  business  in  the  world. 


124  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

But  again  the  sighing  gust  of  air  grew  into 
something  like  a  hoarse  voice. 

* 4  Follow  the  cow ! "  it  said.  4  *  Follow  the  cow ! 
Follow  the  cow!" 

And  when  these  words  had  been  repeated 
until  Cadmus  was  tired  of  hearing  them 
(especially  as  he  could  not  imagine  what  cow  it 
was,  or  why  he  was  to  follow  her),  the  gusty 
hole  gave  vent  to  another  sentence. 

"  Where  the  stray  cow  lies  down,  there  is 
your  home." 

These  words  were  pronounced  but  a  single 
time,  and  died  away  into  a  whisper  before  Cad 
mus  was  fully  satisfied  that  he  had  caught  the 
meaning.  He  put  other  questions,  but  received 
no  answer ;  only  the  gust  of  wind  sighed  con 
tinually  out  of  the  cavity,  and  blew  the  withered 
leaves  rustling  along  the  ground  before  it. 

4 'Did  there  really  come  any  words  out  of  the 
hole?"  thought  Cadmus;  "or  have  I  been 
dreaming  all  this  while?" 

He  turned  away  from  the  oracle,  and  thought 
himself  no  wiser  than  when  he  came  thither. 
Caring  little  what  might  happen  to  him,  he 
took  the  first  path  that  offered  itself,  and  went 
along  at  a  sluggish  pace ;  for,  having  no  object 
in  view,  nor  any  reason  to  go  one  way  more 
than  another,  it  would  certainly  have  been  fool- 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  125 

ish  to  make  haste.  Whenever  he  met  any 
body,  the  old  question  was  at  his  tongue's 
end: — 

4 'Have  you  seen  a  beautiful  maiden,  dressed 
like  a  king's  daughter,  and  mounted  on  a  snow- 
white  bull,  that  gallops  as  swiftly  as  the  wind?" 

But,  remembering  what  the  oracle  had  said, 
he  only  half  uttered  the  words,  and  then 
mumbled  the  rest  indistinctly;  and,  from  this 
confusion,  people  must  have  imagined  that  this 
handsome  young  man  had  lost  his  wits. 

I  know  not  how  far  Cadmus  had  gone,  nor 
could  he  himself  have  told  you,  when,  at  no 
great  distance  before  him,  he  beheld  a  brindle 
cow.  She  was  lying  down  by  the  wayside,  and 
quietly  chewing  her  cud;  nor  did  she  take  any 
notice  of  the  young  man  until  he  had  ap 
proached  pretty  nigh.  Then,  getting  leisurely 
upon  her  feet,  and  giving  her  head  a  gentle  toss, 
she  began  to  move  along  at  a  moderate  pace, 
often  pausing  just  long  enough  to  crop  a 
mouthful  of  grass.  Cadmus  loitered  behind, 
whistling  idly  to  himself,  and  scarcely  noticing 
the  cow;  until  the  thought  occurred  to  him, 
whether  this  could  possibly  be  the  animal 
which,  according  to  the  oracle's  response,  was 
to  serve  him  for  a  guide.  But  he  smiled  at 
himself  for  fancying  such  a  thing.  He  could 


126  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

not  seriously  think  that  this  was  the  cow, 
because  she  went  along  so  quietly,  behaving 
just  like  any  other  cow.  Evidently  she  neither 
knew  nor  cared  so  much  as  a  wisp  of  hay  about 
Cadmus,  and  was  only  thinking  how  to  get  her 
living  along  the  wayside,  where  the  herbage 
was  green  and  fresh.  Perhaps  she  was  going 
home  to  be  milked. 

"Cow,  cow,  cow!"  cried  Cadmus.  "Hey, 
Brindle,  hey!  Stop,  my  good  cow." 

He  wanted  to  come  up  with  the  cow,  so  as 
to  examine  her,  and  see  if  she  would  appear  to 
know  him,  or  whether  there  were  any  peculiar 
ities  to  distinguish  her  from  a  thousand  other 
cows,  whose  only  business  is  to  fill  the  milk- 
pail,  and  sometimes  kick  it  over.  But  still  the 
brindle  cow  trudged  on,  whisking  her  tail  to 
keep  the  flies  away  and  taking  as  little  notice 
of  Cadmus  as  she  well  could.  If  he  walked 
slowly,  so  did  the  cow,  and  seized  the  oppor 
tunity  to  graze.  If  he  quickened  his  pace,  the 
cow  went  just  so  much  the  faster;  and  once, 
when  Cadmus  tried  to  catch  her  by  running,  she 
threw  out  her  heels,  stuck  her  tail  straight  on 
end,  and  set  off  at  a  gallop,  looking  as  queerly 
as  cows  generally  do,  while  putting  them 
selves  to  their  speed. 

When  Cadmus  saw  that  it  was  impossible  to 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  127 

come  up  with  her,  he  walked  on  moderately, 
as  before.  The  cow,  too,  went  leisurely  on, 
without  looking  behind.  Wherever  the  grass 
was  greenest,  there  she  nibbled  a  mouthful  or 
two.  Where  a  brook  glistened  brightly  across 
the  path,  there  the  cow  drank,  and  breathed  a 
comfortable  sigh,  and  drank  again,  and  trudged 
onward  at  the  pace  that  best  suited  herself  and 
Cadmus. 

"I  do  believe,"  thought  Cadmus,  "that  this 
may  be  the  cow  that  was  foretold  me.  If  it  be 
the  one,  I  suppose  she  will  lie  down  some 
where  hereabouts." 

Whether  it  were  the  oracular  cow  or  some 
other  one,  it  did  not  seem  reasonable  that  she 
should  travel  a  great  way  farther.  So,  when 
ever  they  reached  a  particular!}^  pleasant  spot 
on  a  breezy  hill-side,  or  in  a  sheltered  vale,  or 
flowery  meadow,  on  the  shore  of  a  calm  lake, 
or  along  the  bank  of  a  clear  stream,  Cadmus 
looked  eargerly  around  to  see  if  the  situation 
would  suit  him  for  a  home.  But  still,  whether 
he  liked  the  place  or  no,  the  brindled  cow 
never  offered  to  lie  down.  On  she  went  at  the 
quite  pace  of  a  cow  going  homeward  to  the  barn 
yard  ;  and,  every  moment,  Cadmus  expected 
to  see  a  milkmaid  approaching  with  a  pail,  or 
a  herdsman  running  to  head  the  stray  animal, 


128  TANGLEWOOD  TALfiS. 

and  turn  her  back  towards  the  pasture.  But 
no  milkmaid  came;  no  herdsman  drove  her 
back ;  and  Cadmus  followed  the  stray  Brindle 
till  he  was  almost  ready  to  drop  down  with 
fatigue. 

4tO  brindled  cow,"  cried  he,  in  a  tone  of  de 
spair,  "do  you  never  mean  to  stop?" 

He  had  now  grown  too  intent  on  following 
her  to  think  of  lagging  behind,  however  long 
the  way,  and  whatever  might  be  his  fatigue. 
Indeed,  it  seemed  as  if  there  were  something 
about  the  animal  that  bewitched  people.  Sev 
eral  persons  who  happened  to  see  the  brindle 
cow,  and  Cadmus  following  behind,  began  to 
trudge  after  her,  precisely  as  he  did.  Cadmus 
was  glad  of  somebody  to  converse  with,  and 
therefore  talked  very  freely  to  these  good  peo 
ple.  He  told  them  all  his  adventures,  and  how 
he  had  left  King  Agenor  in  his  palace,  and 
Phoenix  at  one  place,  and  Cilix  at  another,  and 
Thasus  at  a  third,  and  his  dear  mother,  Queen 
Telephassa,  under  a  flowery  sod ;  so  that  now 
he  was  quite  alone,  both  friendless  and  home 
less.  He  mentioned,  likewise,  that  the  oracle 
had  bidden  him  be  guided  by  a  cow,  and 
inquired  of  the  strangers  whether  they  sup 
posed  that  this  brindle  animal  could  be  the 
one. 


TANGLE  WOOD  TALES.  129 

.  "Why,  it  is  a  very  wonderful  affair," 
answered  one  of  his  new  companions.  <4I  am 
pretty  well  acquainted  with  the  ways  of  cattle, 
and  I  never  knew  a  cow,  of  her  own  accord,  to 
go  so  far  without  stopping.  If  my  legs  will 
let  me,  I'll  never  leave  following  the  beast  till 
she  lies  down." 

44 Nor  I!"  said  a  second. 

44 Nor  I!"  cried  a  third.  44If  she  goes  a  hun 
dred  miles  farther,  I'm  determined  to  see  the 
end  of  it. ' ' 

The  secret  of  it  was,  you  must  know,  that 
the  cow  was  an  enchanted  cow,  and  that,  with 
out  their  being  conscious  of  it,  she  threw  some 
of  her  enchantment  over  everybody  that  took 
so  much  as  half  a  dozen  steps  behind  her. 
They  could  not  possibly  help  following  her, 
though  all  the  time  they  fancied  themselves 
doing  it  of  their  own  accord.  The  cow  was  by 
mo  means  very  nice  in  choosing  her  path ;  so 
that  sometimes  they  had  to  scramble  over 
rocks,  or  wade  through  mud  and  mire,  and  were 
all  in  a  terribly  bedraggled  condition,  and  tired 
to  death,  and  very  hungry,  into  the  bargain 
What  a  weary  business  it  was!  But  still  they 
kept  trudging  stoutly  forward,  and  talking  as 
they  went.  The  strangers  grew  very  fond  of 
Cadmus,  and  resolved  never  to  leave  him,  but 

9    Tanglewood  Tales 


130  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

to  help  him  build  a  city  wherever  the  cow 
might  lie  down.  In  the  centre  of  it  there  should 
be  a  noble  palace,  in  which  Cadmus  might 
dwell,  and  be  their  king,  with  a  throne,  a  crown 
and  a  sceptre,  a  purple  robe,  and  everything 
else  that  a  king  ought  to  have ;  for  in  him  there 
was  the  royal  blood,  and  the  royal  heart,  and 
the  head  that  knew  how  to  rule. 

While  they  were  talking  of  these  schemes, 
and  beguiling  the  tediousness  of  the  way  with 
laying  out  the  plan  of  the  new  city,  one  of  the 
company  happened  to  look  at  the  cow. 

44 Joy!  joy!"  cried  he,  clapping  his  hands. 
"Brindle  is  going  to  lie  down." 

They  all  looked ;  and,  sure  enough,  the  cow 
had  stopped,  and  was  staring  leisurely  about 
her,  as  other  cows  do  when  on  the  point  of 
lying  down.  And  slowly,  slowly  did  she  recline 
herself  on  the  soft  grass,  first  bending  her  fore 
legs,  and  then  crouching  her  hind  ones.  When 
Cadmus  and  his  companions  came  up  with  her, 
there  was  the  brindled  cow  taking  her  ease, 
chewing  her  cud,  and  looking  them  quietly  in 
the  face;  as  if  this  was  just  the  spot  she  had 
been  seeking  for,  and  as  if  it  were  all  a  matter 
of  course. 

44 This,  then,"  said  Cadmus,  gazing  around 
him,  44this  is  to  be  my  home." 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES,  131 

It  was  a  fertile  and  lovely  plain,  with  great 
trees  flinging  their  sun-speckled  shadows  over 
it,  and  hills  fencing  it  in  from  the  rough 
weather.  At  no  great  distance,  they  beheld  a 
river  gleaming  in  the  sunshine.  A  home-feel 
ing  stole  into  the  heart  of  poor  Cadmus.  He 
was  very  glad  to  know  that  here  he  might 
awake  in  the  morning,  without  the  necessity 
of  putting  on  his  dusty  sandals  to  travel  farther 
and  farther.  The  days  and  the  years  would 
pass  over  him,  and  find  him  still  in  this  pleas 
ant  spot.  If  he  could  have  had  his  brothers 
with  him,  and  his  friend  Thasus,  and  could 
have  seen  his  dear  mother  under  a  roof  of  his 
own,  he  might  here  have  been  happy,  after  all 
their  disappointments.  Some  day  or  other, 
too,  his  sister  Europa  might  have  come  quietly 
to  the  door  of  his  home,  and  smiled  round  upon 
the  familiar  faces.  But,  indeed,  since  there 
was  no  hope  of  regaining  the  friends  of  his  boy 
hood,  or  ever  seeing  his  dear  sister  again,  Cad 
mus  resolved  to  make  himself  happy  with  these 
new  companions,  who  had  grown  so  fond  of 
him  while  following  the  cow. 

"Yes,  my  friends,"  said  he  to  them,  "this  is 
to  be  our  home.  Here  we  will  build  our  hab 
itations  The  brindled  cow,  which  has  led  us 
hither,  will  supply  us  with  milk.  We  will  cul- 


132  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

tivate  the  neighboring  soil,  and  lead  an  inno 
cent  and  happy  life." 

His  companions  joyfully  assented  to  this 
plan ;  and,  in  the  first  place,  being  very  hungry 
and  thirsty,  they  looked  about  them  for  the 
means  of  providing  a  comfortable  meal.  Not 
far  off  they  saw  a  tuft  of  trees,  which  appeared 
as  if  there  might  be  a  spring  of  water  beneath 
them.  They  went  thither  to  fetch  some,  leav 
ing  Cadmus  stretched  on  the  ground  along 
with  the  brindled  cow;  for,  now  that  he  had 
found  a  place  of  rest,  it  seemed  as  if  all  the 
weariness  of  his  pilgrimage,  ever  since  he  left 
King  Agenor's  palace,  had  fallen  upon  him  at 
once.  But  his  new  friends  had  not  long  been 
gone,  when  he  was  suddenly  startled  by  cries, 
shouts  and  screams,  and  the  noise  of  a  terrible 
struggle,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  all,  a  most 
awful  hissing  which  went  right  through  his  ears 
like  a  rough  saw. 

Running  towards  the  tuft  of  trees,  he  beheld 
the  head  and  fiery  eyes  of  an  immense  serpent 
or  dragon,  with  the  widest  jaws  that  ever  a 
dragon  had,  and  a  vast  many  rows  of  horribly 
sharp  teeth.  Before  Cadmus  could  reach  the 
spot,  this  pitiless  reptile  had  killed  his  poor 
companions,  and  was  busily  devouring  them, 
making  but  a  mouthful  of  each  man. 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  133 

It  appears  that  the  fountain  of  water  was 
enchanted,  and  that  the  dragon  had  been  set  to 
guard  it,  so  that  no  mortal  might  ever  quench 
his  thirst  there.  As  the  neighboring  inhabitants 
carefully  avoided  the  spot,  it  was  now  a  long 
time  (not  less  than  a  hundred  years,  or  there 
abouts)  since  the  monster  had  broken  his  fast ; 
and,  as  was  natural  enough,  his  appetite  had 
grown  to  be  enormous,  and  was  not  half  satis 
fied  by  the  poor  people  whom  he  haji  just  eaten 
up.  When  he  caught  sight  of  Cadmus,  there 
fore,  he  set  up  another  abominable  hiss,  and 
flung  back  his  immense  jaws,  until  his  mouth 
looked  like  a  great  red  cavern,  at  the  farther 
end  of  which  were  seen  the  legs  of  his  last  vic 
tim,  whom  he  had  hardly  had  time  to  swallow. 

But  Cadmus  was  so  enraged  at  the  destruc 
tion  of  his  friends,  that  he  cared  neither  for 
the  size  of  the  dragon's  jaws  nor  for  his  hun 
dreds  of  sharp  teeth.  Drawing  his  sword,  he 
rushed  at  the  monster,  and  flung  himself  right 
into  his  cavernous  mouth.  This  bold  method 
of  attacking  him  took  the  dragon  by  surprise ; 
for,  in  fact,  Cadmus  had  leaped  so  far  down  into 
his  throat,  that  the  rows  of  terrible  teeth  could 
not  close  upon  him,  nor  do  him  the  least  harm  in 
the  world.  Thus,  though  the  struggle  was  a 
tremendous  one,  and  though  the  dragon  shat- 


134  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

tered  the  tuft  of  trees  into  small  splinters  by 
the  lashing-  of  his  tail,  yet,  as  Cadmus  was  all 
the  while  slashing  and  stabbing  at  his  very 
vitals,  it  was  not  long  before  the  scaly  wretch 
bethought  himself  of  slipping  away.  He  had 
not  gone  his  length,  however,  when  the  brave 
Cadmus  gave  him  a  sword-thrust  that  finished 
the  battle;  and  creeping  out  of  the  gateway  of 
the  creature's  jaws,  there  he  beheld  him  still 
wriggling  his  vast  bulk,  although  there  was  no 
longer  life  enough  in  him  to  harm  a  little  child. 

But  do  not  you  suppose  that  it  made  Cadmus 
sorrowful  to  think  of  the  melancholy  fate  which 
had  befallen  those  poor,  friendly  people,  who 
had  followed  the  cow  along  with  him?  It 
seemed  as  if  he  were  doomed  to  lose  everybody 
whom  he  loved,  or  to  see  them  perish  in  one 
way  or  another.  And  here  he  was,  after  all 
his  toils  and  troubles,  in  a  solitary  place,  with 
not  a  single  human  being  to  help  him  build  a 
hut. 

44 What  shall  I  do?"  cried  he  aloud.  "It 
were  better  for  me  to  have  been  devoured  by 
the  dragon,  as  my  poor  companions  were." 

44 Cadmus, "  said  a  voice,  —  but  whether  it 
came  from  above  or  below  him,  or  whether  it 
spoke  within  his  own  breast,  the  young  man 
could  not  tell,  — 4<  Cadmus,  pluck  out  the 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  135 

dragon's  teeth,  and  plant  them  in  the 
earth. " 

This  was  a  strange  thing  to  do ;  nor  was  it 
very  easy,  I  should  imagine,  to  dig  out  all 
those  deep-rooted  fangs  from  the  dead  dragon's 
jaws.  But  Cadmus  toiled  and  tugged,  and  after 
pounding  the  monstrous  head  almost  to  pieces 
with  a  great  stone,  he  at  last  collected  as  many 
teeth  as  might  have  rilled  a  bushel  or  two.  The 
next  thing  was  to  plant  them.  This,  likewise, 
was  a  tedious  piece  of  work,  especially  as  Cad 
mus  was  already  exhausted  with  killing  the 
dragon  and  knocking  his  head  to  pieces  and 
had  nothing  to  dig  the  earth  with,  that  I  know 
of,  unless  it  were  his  sword-blade.  Finally, 
however,  a  sufficiently  large  tract  of  ground 
was  turned  up,  and  sown  with  this  new  kind  of 
seed;  although  half  of  the  dragon's  teeth  still 
remained  to  be  planted  some  other  day. 

Cadmus,  quite  out  of  breath,  stood  leaning 
upon  his  sword,  and  wondering  what  was  to 
happen  next.  He  had  waited  but  a  few 
moments,  when  he  began  to  see  a  sight,  which 
was  as  great  a  marvel  as  the  most  marvelous 
thing  I  ever  told  you  about. 

The  sun  was  shining  slantwise  over  the  field, 
and  showed  all  the  moist,  dark  soil  just  like  any 
other  newly-planted  piece  of  ground.  All  at 


136  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

once  Cadmus  fancied  he  saw  something  glisten 
very  brightly,  first  atone  spot,  then  at  another, 
then  at  a  h undred  and  a  thousand  spots  together. 
Soon  he  perceived  them  to  be  the  steel  heads 
of  spears,  sprouting  up  everywhere  like  so 
many  stalks  of  grain,  and  continually  growing 
taller  and  taller.  Next  appeared  a  vast  num 
ber  of  bright  sword-blades  thrusting  them 
selves  up  in  the  same  way.  A  moment  after 
wards,  the  whole  surface  of  the  ground  was 
broken  up  by  a  multitude  of  polished  brass 
helmets,  coming  up  like  a  crop  of  enormous 
beans.  So  rapidly  did  they  grow,  that  Cadmus 
now  discerned  the  fierce  countenance  of  a  man 
beneath  every  one.  In  short,  before  he  had 
lime  to  think  what  a  wonderful  affair  it  was, 
lie  beheld  an  abundant  harvest  of  what  looked 
like  human  beings,  armed  with  helmets  and 
breastplates,  shields,  swords  and  spears;  and 
before  they  were  well  out  of  the  earth,  they 
brandished  their  weapons,  and  clashed  them 
one  against  another,  seeming  to  think,  little 
while  as  they  had  yet  lived,  that  they  had 
wasted  too  much  of  life  without  a  battle. 
Every  tooth  of  the  dragon  had  produced  one 
of  these  sons  of  deadly  mischief. 

Up  sprouted,  also,  a  great  many  trumpeters; 
and  with  the  first  breath  that  they  drew,  they 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  137 

put  their  brazon  trumpets  to  their  lips,  and 
sounded  a  tremendous  and  ear-shattering 
blast;  so  that  the  whole  space,  just  now  so 
quiet  and  solitary,  reverberated  with  the  clash 
and  clang  of  arms,  the  brave  war-like  music 
and  the  shouts  of  angry  men.  So  enraged  did 
they  all  look,  that  Cadmus  fully  expected 
them  to  put  the  whole  world  to  the  sword. 
How  fortunate  would  it  be  for  a  great  con 
queror,  if  he  could  get  a  bushel  of  the  dragon's 
teeth  to  sow! 

4 'Cadmus,"  said  the  same  voice  which  lie 
had  before  heard,  "  throw  a  stone  into  the  midst 
of  the  armed  men. " 

So  Cadmus  seized  a  large  stone,  and,  flinging 
it  into  the  middle  of  the  earth  army,  saw  it 
strike  the  breastplate  of  a  gigantic  and  fierce- 
looking  warrior.  Immediately  on  feeling  the 
blow,  he  seemed  to  take  it  for  granted  that 
somebody  had  struck  him ;  and,  uplifting  his 
weapon,  he  smote  his  next  neighbor  a  blow  that 
cleft  his  hemlet  asunder,  and  stretched  him  on 
the  ground.  In  an  instant,  those  nearest  the 
fallen  warrior  began  to  strike  at  one  another 
with  their  swords  and  stab  with  their  spears. 
The  confusion  spread  wider  and  wider.  Each 
man  smote  down  his  brother,  and  was  himself 
smitten  down  before  he  had  time  to  exult  in 


138  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

his  victory.  The  trumpeters,  all  the  while, 
blew  their  blasts  shriller  and  shriller;  each  sol 
dier  shouted  a  battle-cry  and  often  fell  with  it 
on  his  lips.  It  was  the  strangest  spectacle  of 
causeless  wrath,  and  of  mischief  for  no  good 
end,  that  had  ever  been  witnessed;  but,  after 
all,  it  was  neither  more  foolish  nor  more  wicked 
than  a  thousand  battles  that  have  since  been 
fought,  in  which  men  have  slain  their  brothers 
with  just  as  little  reason  as  these  children  of 
the  dragon's  teeth.  It  ought  to  be  considered,  . 
too,  that  the  dragon  people  were  made  for 
nothing  else ;  whereas  other  mortals  were  born 
to  love  and  help  one  another. 

Well,  this  memorable  battle  continued  to 
rage  until  the  ground  was  strewn  with  hel- 
meted  heads  that  had  been  cut  off.  Of  all  the 
thousands  that  began  the  fight,  there  were  only 
five  left  standing.  These  now  rushed  from 
different  parts  of  the  field,  and,  meeting  in  the 
middle  of  it,  clashed  their  swords,  and  struck 
at  each  other's  hearts  as  fiercely  as  ever. 

4 '  Cadmus, "  said  the  voice  again,  "bid  those 
five  warriors  sheathe  their  swords.  They  will 
help  you  to  build  the  city." 

Without  hesitating  an  instant,  Cadmus 
stepped  forward,  with  the  aspect  of  a  king  and 
a  leader,  and  extending  his  drawn  sword 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  139 

amongst  them,  spoke  to  the  warriors  in  a  stern 
and  commanding  voice. 

44 Sheathe  your  weapons!"  said  he. 

And  forthwith,  feeling  themselves  bound  to 
obey  him,  the  five  remaining  sons  of  the  drag 
on's  teeth  made  him  a  military  salute  with 
their  swords,  returned  them  to  the  scabbards, 
and  stood  before  Cadmus  in  a  rank,  eyeing  him 
as  soldiers  eye  their  captain  while  awaiting  the 
word  of  command. 

These  five  men  had  probably  sprung  from 
the  biggest  of  the  dragon's  teeth,  and  were  the 
boldest  and  strongest  of  the  whole  army. 
They  were  almost  giants,  indeed,  and  had  good 
need  to  be  so,  else  they  never  could  have  lived 
through  so  terrible  a  fight.  They  still  had  a 
very  furious  look,  and,  if  Cadmus  happened  to 
glance  aside,  would  glare  at  one  another,  with 
fire  flashing  out  of  their  eyes.  It  was  strange, 
too,  to  observe  how  the  earth,  out  of  which 
they  had  so  lately  grown,  was  incrusted,  here 
and  there,  on  their  bright  breastplates,  and 
even  begrimed  their  faces,  just  as  you  may  have 
seen  it  clinging  to  beets  and  carrots  when 
pulled  out  of  their  native  soil.  Cadmus  hardly 
knew  whether  to  consider  them  as  men,  or  some 
odd  kind  of  vegetable ;  although,  on  the  whole, 
he  concluded  that  there  was  human  nature  in 


140  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

them,  because  they  were  so  fond  of  trumpets 
and  weapons,  and  so  ready  to  shed  blood. 

They  looked  him  earnestly  in  the  face,  wait 
ing  for  his  next  order,  and  evidently  desiring 
no  other  employment  than  to  follow  him  from 
one  battle-field  to  another,  all  over  the  wide 
world.  But  Cadmus  was  wiser  than  these 
earth-born  creatures,  with  the  dragon's  fierce 
ness  in  them,  and  knew  better  how  to  use  their 
strength  and  hardihood. 

44 Come!"  said  he.  "You  are  sturdy  fellows. 
Make  yourselves  useful!  Quarry  some  stones 
with  those  great  swords  of  yours,  and  help 
me  to  build  a  city." 

The  five  soldiers  grumbled  a  little,  and  mut 
tered  that  it  was  their  business  to  overthrow 
cities,  not  to  build  them  up.  But  Cadmus 
looked  at  them  with  a  stern  eye,  and  spoke  to 
them  in  a  tone  of  authority,  so  that  they  knew 
him  for  their  master,  and  never  again  thought 
of  disobeying  his  commands.  They  set  to  work 
in  good  earnest,  and  toiled  so  diligently,  that, 
in  a  short  time  a  city  began  to  make  its 
appearance.  At  first,  to  be  sure,  the  workmen 
showed  a  quarrelsome  disposition.  Like  sav 
age  beasts,  they  would  doubtless  have  done 
one  another  a  mischief,  if  Cadmus  had  not  kept 
watch  over  them  and  quelled  the  fierce  old  ser- 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  141 

pent  that  lurked  in  their  hearts,  when  he  saw 
it  gleaming  out  of  their  wild  eyes.  But,  in 
course  of  time,  they  got  accustomed  to  honest 
labor,  and  had  sense  enough  to  feel  that  there 
was  more  true  enjoyment  in  living  at  peace, 
and  doing  good  to  one's  neighbor,  than  in  strik 
ing  at  him  with  a  two-edged  sword.  It  may 
not  be  too  much  to  hope  that  the  rest  of  man 
kind  will  by  and  by  grow  as  wise  and  peace 
able  as  these  five  earth- begrimed  warriors  who 
sprang  from  the  dragon's  teeth. 

And  now  the  city  was  built,  and  there  was  a 
home  in  it  for  each  of  the  workmen.  But  the 
palace  of  Cadmus  was  not  yet  erected,  because 
they  had  left  it  till  the  last,  meaning  to  intro 
duce  all  the  new  improvements  of  architecture, 
and  make  it  very  commodious,  as  well  as  stately 
and  beautiful.  After  finishing  the  rest  of  their 
labors,  they  all  went  to  bed  betimes,  in  order 
to  rise  in  the  gray  of  the  morning,  and  get  at 
least  the  foundation  of  the  edifice  laid  before 
nightfall.  But,  when  Cadmus  arose,  and  took 
his  way  towards  the  site  where  the  palace  was 
to  be  built,  followed  by  his  five  sturdy  work 
men  marching  all  in  a  row,  what  do  you  think 
he  saw? 

What  should  it  be  but  the  most  magnificent 
palace  that  had  ever  been  seen  in  the  world? 


142  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

It  was  built  of  marble  and  other  beautiful  kinds 
of  stone,  and  rose  high  into  the  air,  with  a 
splendid  dome  and  a  portico  along  the  front, 
and  carved  pillars,  and  everything  else  that 
befitted  the  habitation  of  a  mighty  king.  It 
had  grown  up  out  of  the  earth  in  almost  as 
short  a  time  as  it  had  taken  the  armed  host  to 
spring  from  the  dragon's  teeth ;  and  what  made 
the  matter  more  strange,  no  seed  of  this  stately 
edifice  had  ever  been  planted. 

When  the  five  workmen  beheld  the  dome, 
with  the  morning  sunshine  making  it  look 
golden  and  glorious,  they  gave  a  great  shout, 

44 Long  live  King  Cadmus, "  they  cried,  "in 
his  beautiful  palace." 

And  the  new  king,  with  his  five  faithful  fol 
lowers  at  his  heels,  shouldering  their  pickaxes 
and  marching  in  a  rank  (for  they  still  had  a 
soldier-like  sort  of  behavior,  as  their  nature 
was),  ascended  the  palace  steps.  Halting  at 
the  entrance,  they  gazed  through  a  long  vista 
of  lofty  pillars  that  were  ranged  from  end  to 
end  of  a  great  hall.  At  the  farther  extremity 
of  this  hall,  approaching  slowly  towards  himv 
Cadmus  beheld  a  female  figure,  wonderfully 
beautiful,  and  adorned  with  a  royal  robe,  and 
a  crown  of  diamonds  over  her  golden  ringlets, 
and  the  richest  necklace  that  ever  a  queen  wore. 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  143 

His  heart  thrilled  with  delight,  He  fancied  it 
his  long-lost  sister  Europa,  now  grown  to 
womanhood,  coming  to  make  him  happy,  and 
to  repay  him,  with  her  sweet  sisterly  affection, 
for  all  those  weary  wanderings  in  quest  of  her 
since  he  left  King  Agenor's  palace, — for  the 
tears  that  he  had  shed,  on  parting  with  Phoenix, 
and  Cilix,  and  Thasus, — for  the  heart-break 
ings  that  had  made  the  whole  world  seem  dis 
mal  to  him  over  his  dear  mother's  grave. 

But,  as  Cadmus  advanced  to  meet  the  beau 
tiful  stranger,  he  saw  chat  her  features  were 
unknown  to  him,  although,  in  the  little  time 
that  it  required  to  tread  along  the  hall,  he  had 
already  felt  a  sympathy  betwixt  himself  and 
her. 

"No,  Cadmus,"  said  the  same  voice  that 
had  spoken  to  him  in  the  field  of  the  armed 
men,  "this  is  not  that  dear  sister  Europa  whom 
you  have  sought  so  faithfully  all  over  the  wide 
world.  This  is  Harmonia,  a  daughter  of  the 
sky,  who  is  given  you  instead  of  sister,  and 
brothers,  and  friend,  and  mother.  You  will 
find  all  those  dear  ones  in  her  alone. ' ' 

So  King  Cadmus  dwelt  in  the  palace,  with 
his  new  friend  Harmonia,  and  found  a  great 
deal  of  comfort  in  his  magnificent  abode,  but 
would  doubtless  have  found  as  much,  if  not 


144  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

more,  in  the  humblest  cottage  by  the  wayside, 
Before  many  years  went  by,  there  was  a  group 
of  rosy  little  children  (but  how  they  came 
thither  has  always  been  a  mystery  to  me)  sport 
ing  in  the  great  hall,  and  on  the  marble  steps 
of  the  palace,  and  running  joyfully  to  meet 
King  Cadmus  when  affairs  of  state  left  him  at 
leisure  to  play  with  them.  They  called  him 
father,  and  Queen  Harmonia  mother.  The  five 
old  soldiers  of  the  dr^g^n's  teeth  grew  very 
fond  of  these  small  urchins,  and  were  never 
weary  of  showing  them  how  to  shoulder  sticks, 
nourish  wooden  swords,  and  march  In  military 
order,  blowing  a  penny  trumpet,  or  beating  an 
abominable  rub-a-dub  upon  a  little  drum. 

But  King  Cadmus,  lest  there  should  be  too 
much  of  the  dragon's  teeth  in  his  children's 
disposition,  used  to  find  time  from  his  kingly 
duties  to  teach  them  their  A  B  C, — which  he 
invented  for  their  benefit,  and  for  which  many 
little  people,  I  am  afraid,  are  not  half  so  grate 
ful  to  him  as  they  ought  to  be. 


m 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  145 


CIRCE'S  PALACE. 


Some  of  you  have  heard,  no  doubt,  of  the 
wise  King  Ulysses,  and  how  he  went  to  the 
siege  of  Troy ;  and  how,  after  that  famous  city 
was  taken  and  burned,  he  spent  ten  long  years 
in  trying  to  get  back  again  to  his  own  little 
kingdom  of  Ithaca.  At  one  time  in  the  course 
of  this  weary  voyage  he  arrived  at  an  island 
that  looked  very  green  and  pleasant,  but  the 
name  of  which  was  unknown  to  him.  For,  only 
a  little  while  before  he  came  thither,  he  had 
met  with  a  terrible  hurricane,  or  rather  a  great 
many  hurricanes  at  once,  which  drove  his  fleet 
of  vessels  into  a  strange  part  of  the  sea,  where 
neither  himself  nor  any  of  his  mariners  had 
ever  sailed.  This  misfortune  was  entirely 
owing  to  the  foolish  curiosity  of  his  shipmates, 
who,  while  Ulysses  lay  asleep,  had  untied  some 
very  bulky,  leathern  bags,  in  which  they  sup 
posed  a  valuable  treasure  to  be  concealed.  But 
in  each  of  these  stout  bags  King  Aeolus,  the 
ruler  of  the  winds,  had  tied  up  a  tempest,  and 

10    Tangiewood  Tales 


146  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

had  given  it  to  Ulysses  to  keep,  in  order  that 
he  might  be  sure  of  a  favorable  passage  home 
ward  to  Ithaca;  and  when  the  strings  were 
loosened,  forth  rushed  the  whistling  blasts,  like 
air  out  of  a  blown  bladder,  whitening  the  sea 
with  foam,  and  scattering  the  vessels  nobody 
could  tell  whither. 

Immediately  after  escaping  from  this  peril, 
a  still  greater  one  had  befallen  him.  Scuddim: 
before  the  hurricane,  he  reached  a  place  which 
as  he  afterwards  found,  was  called  Laestry 
gonia,  where  some  monstrous  giants  had  eaten 
up  many  of  his  companions,  and  had  sunk 
every  one  of  his  vessels,  except  that  in  which 
he  himself  sailed,  by  flinging  great  masses  of 
rock  at  them,  from  the  cliffs  along  the  shore. 
After  going  through  such  troubles  as  these, 
you  cannot  wonder  that  King  Ulysses  was  glad 
to  moor  his  tempest- beaten  bark  in  a  quiet 
cove  of  the  green  island,  which  I  began  with 
telling  you  about.  But  he  had  encountered  so 
many  dangers  from  giants,  and  one-eyed 
Cyclops,  and  monsters  of  the  sea  and  land,  that 
he  could  not  help  dreading  some  mischief, 
even  in  this  pleasant  and  seemingly  solitary 
spot.  For  two  days,  therefore,  the  poor 
weather-worn  voyagers  kept  quiet,  and  either 
stayed  on  board  of  their  vessel,  or  merely 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  147 

crept  along  under  cliffs  that  bordered  the  shore ; 
and  to  keep  themselves  alive  they  dug  shell 
fish  out  of  the  sand,  and  sought  for  any  little 
rill  of  fresh  water  that  might  be  running 
towards  the  sea. 

Before  the  two  days  were  spent  they  grew 
very  weary  of  this  kind  of  life ;  for  the  follow 
ers  of  King  Ulysses,  as  you  will  find  it  impor 
tant  to  remember,  were  terrible  gormandizers, 
and  pretty  sure  to  grumble  if  they  missed  their 
regular  meals,  and  their  irregular  ones  besides. 
Their  stock  of  provisions  was  quite  exhausted, 
and  even  the  shell-fish  began  to  get  scarce,  so 
that  they  had  now  to  choose  between  starving 
to  death  or  venturing  into  the  interior  of  the 
island,  where,  perhaps,  some  huge  three-headed 
dragon,  or  other  horrible  monster,  had  his  den. 
Such  mishappen  creatures  were  very  numerous 
in  those  days;  andnobodyever  expected  to  make 
a  voyage,  or  take  a  journey,  without  running 
more  or  less  risk  of  being  devoured  by  them. 

But  King  Ulysses  was  a  bold  man  as  well  as 
a  prudent  one;  and  on  the  third  morning  he 
determined  to  discover  what  sort  of  a  place  the 
island  was,  and  whether  it  were  possible  to 
obtain  a  supply  of  food  for  the  hungry  mouths 
of  his  companions.  So,  taking  a  spear  in  his 
hand,  he  clambered  to  the  summit  of  a  cliff, 


148  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

and  gazed  round  about  him.  At  a  distance, 
towards  the  center  of  the  island,  he  beheld  the 
stately  towers  of  what  seemed  to  be  a  palace, 
built  of  snow-white  marble,  and  rising  in  the 
midst  of  a  grove  of  lofty  trees.  The  thick 
branches  of  these  trees  stretched  across  the 
front  of  the  edifice,  and  more  than  half  con 
cealed  it,  although,  from  the  portion  which  he 
saw,  Ulysses  judged  it  to  be  spacious  and 
exceedingly  beautiful,  and  probably  the  resi 
dence  of  some  great  nobleman  or  prince.  A 
blue  smoke  went  curling  up  from  the  chimney, 
and  was  almost  the  pleasantest  part  of  the 
spectacle  to  Ulysses.  For,  from  the  abound- 
ance  of  this  smoke,  it  was  reasonable  to  con 
clude  that  there  was  a  good  fire  in  the  kitchen, 
and  that,  at  dinner-time,  a  plentiful  banquet 
would  be  served  up  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
palace,  and  to  whatever  guests  might  happen 
to  drop  in. 

With  so  agreeable  a  prospect  before  him, 
Ulysses  fancied  that  he  could  not  do  better 
than  to  go  straight  to  the  palace  gate,  and  tell 
the  master  of  it  that  there  was  a  crew  of  poor 
shipwrecked  mariners  not  far  off,  who  had 
eaten  nothing  for  a  day  or  two,  save  a  few 
clams  and  oysters,  and  would  therefore  be 
thankful  for  a  little  food.  And  the  prince  or 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  149 

i.obleman  must  be  a  very  stingy  curmudgeon, 
i  o  be  sure,  if,  at  least,  when  his  own  dinner  was 
i .ver,  he  would  not  bid  them  welcome  to  the 
broken  victuals  from  the  table. 

Pleasing  himself  with  this  idea,  King  Ulysses 
had  made  a  few  steps  in  the  direction  of  the 
palace,  when  there  was  a  great  twittering  and 
chirping  from  the  branch  of  a  neighboring 
tree.  A  moment  afterwards  a  bird  came  flying 
towards  him,  and  hovered  in  the  air,  so  as 
almost  to  brush  his  face  with  its  wings.  It  was 
a  very  pretty  little  bird,  with  purple  wings  and 
body,  and  yellow  legs;  and  a  circle  of  golden 
feathers  round  its  neck,  and  on  its  head  a 
golden  tuft,  which  looked  like  a  king's  crown 
in  miniature.  Ulysses  tried  to  catch  the  bird, 
but  it  fluttered  nimbly  out  of  his  reach,  still 
chirping  in  a  piteous  tone,  as  if  it  could  have 
told  a  lamentable  story,  had  it  only  been  gifted 
with  human  language.  And  when  he  attempted 
to  drive  it  away,  the  bird  flew  no  farther  than 
the  bough  of  the  next  tree  and  again  came 
fluttering  about  his  head,  with  its^doleful  chirp, 
as  soon  as  he  showed  a  purpose  of  going  for 
ward. 

"Have  you  anything  to  tell  me,  little  bird?" 
asked  Ulysses. 

And  he  was  ready  to  listen  attentively  to 


150  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

whatever  the  bird  might  communicate ;  for  at 
the  siege  of  Troy,  and  elsewhere,  he  had 
known  such  odd  things  to  happen,  that  he 
would  not  have  considered  it  much  out  of  the 
common  run  had  this  little  feathered  creature 
talked  as  plainly  as  himself. 

"Peep!"  said  the  bird,  "peep,  peep,  pe — 
weep!"  And  nothing  else  would  it  say,  but 
only,  "Peep,  peep,  pe — weep!"  in  a  melancholy 
cadence,  and  over  and  over  and  over  again. 
As  often  as  Ulysses  moved  forward,  however, 
the  bird  showed  the  greatest  alarm,  and  did  its 
best  to  drive  him  back,  with  the  anxious  flutter 
of  its  purple  wings.  Its  unaccountable 
behavior  made  him  conclude  at  last  that  the 
bird  knew  of  some  danger  that  awaited  him, 
and  which  must  needs  be  very  terrible,  beyond 
all  question,  since  it  moved  even  a  little  fowl 
to  feel  compassion  for  a  human  being.  So  he 
resolved,  for  the  present,  to  return  to  the  ves 
sel,  and  tell  his  companions  what  he  had  seen. 

This  appeared  to  satisfy  the  bird.  As  soon 
as  Ulysses  turned  back,  it  ran  up  the  trunk  of 
a  tree,  and  began  to  pick  insects  out  of  the  bark 
with  its  long,  sharp  bill ;  for  it  was  a  kind  of 
woodpecker,  you  :  .ust  know,  and  had  to  get  its 
living  in  the  same  manner  as  other  birds  of 
that  species.  But  every  little  while,  as  it 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  151 

pecked  at  the  bark  of  the  tree,  the  purple  bird 
bethought  itself  of  some  secret  sorrow,  and 
repeated  its  plaintive  note  of  "Peep,  peep,  pe 
— weep!" 

On  his  way  to  the  shore,  Ulysses  had  the  good 
luck  to  kill  a  large  stag  by  thrusting  his  spear 
into  its  back.  Taking  it  on  his  shoulders  (for 
he  was  a  remarkably  strong  man),  he  lugged 
it  along  with  him,  and  flung  it  down  before  his 
hungry  companions.  I  have  already  hinted  to 
you  what  gormandizers  some  of  the  comrades 
of  King  Ulysses  were.  From  what  is  related 
of  them,  I  reckon  that  their  favorite  diet  was 
pork,  and  that  they  had  lived  upon  it  until  a 
good  part  of  their  physical  substance  was 
swine's  flesh  and  their  tempers  and  dispositions 
were  very  much  akin  to  the  hog.  A  dish  of 
venison,  however,  was  no  unacceptable  meal 
to  them,  especially  after  feeding  so  long  on 
oysters  and  clams.  So,  beholding  the  dead 
stag,  they  felt  of  its  ribs  in  a  knowing  way,  and 
lost  no  time  in  kindling  a  fire,  of  drift-wood, 
to  cook  it.  The  rest  of  the  day  was  spent  in 
feasting;  and  if  these  enormous  eaters  got  up 
from  the  table  at  sunset,  it  was  only  because 
they  could  not  scrape  another  morsel  off  the 
poor  animal's  bones. 

The  next  morning  their  appetites  were  as 


152  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

sharp  as  ever.  They  looked  at  Ulysses,  as  if 
they  expected  him  to  clamber  up  the  cliff  again, 
and  come  back  with  another  fat  deer  upon  his 
shoulders.  Instead  of  setting  out,  however, 
he  summoned  the  whole  crew  together,  and 
told  them  it  was  in  vain  to  hope  that  he  could 
kill  a  stag  every  day  for  their  dinner,  and 
therefore,  it  was  advisable  to  think  of  some 
other  mode  of  satisfying  their  hunger. 

"Now,"  said  he,  "when  I  was  on  the  cliff 
yesterday,  I  discovered  that  this  island  is 
inhabited.  At  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  shore  stood  a  marble  palace,  which  appeared 
tc  be  very  spacious,  and  had  a  great  deal  of 
smoke  curling  out  of  one  of  its  chimneys. ' ' 

"Aha!"  muttered  some  of  his  companions, 
smacking  their  lips.  "That  smoke  must  have 
come  from  the  kitchen  fire.  There  was  a  good 
dinner  on  the  spit ;  and  no  doubt  there  will  be 
as  good  a  one  to-day. " 

44 But, "  continued  the  wise  Ulysses,  "you 
must  remember,  my  good  friends,  our  misad 
venture  in  the  cavern  of  one-eyed  Polyphemus, 
the  Cyclops !  Instead  of  his  ordinary  milk  diet, 
did  he  not  eat  up  two  of  our  comrades  for  his 
supper,  and  a  couple  more  for  breakfast,  and 
two  at  his  supper  again?  Methinks  I  see  him 
yet,  the  hideous  monster,  scanning  us  with  that 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  153 

great  red  eye,  in  the  middle  of  his  forehead, 
to  single  out  the  fattest.  And  then  again  only 
a  few  days  ago,  did  we  not  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  king  of  the  Laestrygons,  and  those  other 
horrible  giants,  his  subjects,  who  devoured  a 
great  many  more  of  us  than  are  now  left?  To 
tell  you  the  truth,  if  we  go  to  yonder  palace, 
there  can  be  no  question  that  we  shall  make 
our  appearance  at  the  dinner  table;  but 
whether  seated  as  guests,  or  served  up  as  food, 
is  a  point  to  be  seriously  considered. ' ' 

"Either  way,"  murmured  some  of  the 
hungriest  of  the  crew,  "it  will  be  better  than 
starvation ;  particularly  if  one  could  be  sure  of 
being  well  fattened  beforehand,  and  daintily 
cooked  afterwards. ' ' 

"That  is  a  matter  of  taste, "  said  King  Ulysses, 
"and,  for  my  own  part,  neither  the  most  care 
ful  fattening  nor  the  daintiest  of  cookery  would 
reconcile  me  to  being  dished  at  last.  My  pro 
posal  is,  therefore,  that  we  divide  ourselves  into 
two  equal  parties,  and  ascertain,  by  drawing 
lots,  which  of  the  two  shall  go  to  the  palace, 
and  beg  for  food  and  assistance.  If  these  can 
be  obtained,  all  is  well.  If  not,  and  if  the 
inhabitants  prove  as  inhospitable  as  Poly 
phemus,  or  the  Laestrygons,  then  there  will 


154  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

but  half  of  us  perish,  and  the  remainder  may 
set  sail  and  escape. ' ' 

As  nobody  objected  to  this  scheme,  Ulysses 
proceeded  to  count  the  whole  band,  and  found 
that  there  were  forty-six  men  including  him 
self.  He  then  numbered  off  twenty-two  of 
them,  and  put  Eurylochus  (who  was  one  of  the 
chief  officers,  and  second  only  to  himself  in 
sagacity)  at  the  head.  Ulysses  took  command 
of  the  remaining  twenty-two  men,  in  person. 
Then,  taking  off  his  helmet,  put  two  shells 
into  it,  on  one  of  which  was  written,  "Go,"  and 
on  the  other  "Stay."  Another  person  now 
held  the  helmet,  while  Ulysses  and  Eurylochus 
drew  out  each  a  shell;  and  the  word  "Go"  was 
found  written  on  that  which  Eurylochus  had 
drawn.  In  this  manner,  it  was  decided  that 
Ulysses  and  his  twenty-two  men  were  to  remain 
at  the  sea-side  until  the  other  party  should  have 
found  out  what  sort  of  treatment  they  might 
expect  at  the  mysterious  palace.  As  there  was 
no  help  for  it,  Eurylochus  immediately  set  forth 
at  the  head  of  his  twenty-two  followers,  who 
went  off  in  a  very  melancholy  state  of  mind, 
leaving  their  friends  in  hardly  better  spirits 
than  themselves. 

No  sooner  had  they  clambered  up  the  eliff, 
than  they  discerned  the  tall  marble  towers  of 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  155 

the  palace,  ascending-,  as  white  as  snow,  out  of 
the  lovely  green  shadow  of  the  trees  which  sur 
rounded  it.  A  gush  of  smoke  came  from  a 
chimney  in  the  rear  of  the  edifice.  This  vapor 
rose  high  in  the  air,  and,  meeting  with  the 
breeze,  was  waif  ted  seaward,  and  made  to  pass 
over  the  heads  of  the  hungry  mariners.  When 
people's  appetites  are  keen,  they  have  a  very 
quick  scent  for  anything  savory  in  the  wind. 

4  *  That  smoke  comes  from  the  kitchen!"  cried 
one  of  them,  turning  up  his  nose  as  high  as  he 
could,  and  snuffing  eagerly.  "And,  as  sure  as 
I'm  a  half-starved  vagabond,  I  smell  roast  meat 
in  it. ' ' 

4 'Pig,  roast  pig!"  said  another.  "Ah,  the 
dainty  little  porker!  My  mouth  waters  for 
him." 

"Let  us  make  haste,"  cried  the  others,  "or 
we  shall  be  too  late  for  the  good  cheer!" 

"But  scarcely  had  they  made  half  a  dozen 
steps  from  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  when  a  bird 
came  fluttering  to  meet  them.  It  was  the  same 
pretty  little  bird,  with  the  purple  wings  and 
body,  the  yellow  legs,  the  golden  collar  round 
its  neck,  and  the  crown-like  tuft  upon  its  head, 
whose  behavior  had  so  much  surprised  Ulysses. 
It  hovered  about  Eurylochus,  and  almost 
brushed  his  face  with  its  wings. 


156  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

"Peep,   peep,   pe — weep!"  chirped  the  bird. 

So  plaintively  intelligent  was  the  sound,  that 
it  seemed  as  if  the  little  creature  were  going  to 
break  its  heart  with  some  mighty  secret  that  it 
had  to  tell,  and  only  this  one  poor  note  to  tell 
it  with. 

"My  pretty  bird,"  said  Eurylochus, — for  he 
was  a  wary  person,  and  let  no  token  of  harm 
escape  his  notice, — "my  pretty  bird,  who  sent 
you  hither?  And  what  is  the  message  which 
you  bring?" 

"Peep,  peep,  pe— weep!"  replied  the  bird, 
very  sorrowfully. 

Then  it  flew  towards  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  and 
looked  round  at  them,  as  if  exceedingly  anxious 
that  they  should  return  whence  they  came. 
Eurylochus  and  a  few  of  the  others  were 
inclined  to  turn  back.  They  could  not  help 
suspecting  that  the  purple  bird  must  be  aware 
of  something  mischievous  that  would  befall 
them  at  the  palace,  and  the  knowledge  of  which 
affected  its  airy  spirit  with  a  human  sympathy 
and  sorrow.  But  the  rest  of  the  voyagers, 
snuffing  up  the  smoke  from  the  palace  kitchen, 
ridiculed  the  idea  of  returning  to  the  vessel. 
One  of  them  (more  brutal  than  his  fellows,  and 
the  most  notorious  gormandizer  in  the  whole 
crew)  said  such  a  cruel  and  wicked  thing,  that 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  157 

I  wonder  the  mere  thought  did  not  turn  him 
into  a  wild  beast  in  shape,  as  he  already  was  in 
nature. 

4 'This  troublesome  and  impertinent  little 
fowl,"  said  he,  "would  make  a  delicate  titbit 
to  begin  dinner  with.  Just  one  plump  morsel 
melting  away  between  the  teeth.  If  he  comes 
within  my  reach,  I'll  catch  him,  and  give  him 
to  the  palace  cook  to  be  roasted  on  a  skewer. ' ' 

The  words  were  hardly  out  of  his  mouth, 
before  the  purple  bird  flew  away,  crying  "Peep, 
peep,  pe — weep,"  more  dolorously  than  ever. 

"That  bird,"  remarked  Eurylochus,  "knows 
more  than  we  do  about  what  awaits  us  at  the 
palace. ' ' 

"Come  on,  then,"  cried  his  comrades,  "and 
we'll  soon  know  as  much  as  he  does. " 

The  party,  accordingly,  went  onward  through 
the  green  and  pleasant  wood.  Every  little 
while  they  caught  new  glimpses  of  the  marble 
palace,  which  looked  more  and  more  beautiful 
the  nearer  they  approached  it.  They  soon 
entered  a  broad  pathway,  which  seemed  to  be 
very  neatly  kept,  and  which  went  winding 
along  with  streaks  of  sunshine  falling  across  it, 
and  specks  of  light  quivering  among  the  deep 
est  shadows  that  fell  from  the  lofty  trees.  It 
was  bordered,  too,  with  a  great  many  sweet- 


158  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

smelling  flowers  such  as  the  mariners  had  never 
seen  before.  So  rich  and  beautiful  they  were, 
that,  if  the  shrubs  grew  wild  here,  and  were 
native  in  the  soil,  then  this  island  was  surely 
the  flower-garden  of  the  whole  earth ;  or,  if 
transplanted  from  some  other  clime,  it  must 
have  been  from  the  Happy  Islands  that  lay 
towards  the  golden  sunset. 

4 'There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  pains  fool 
ishly  wasted  on  these  flowers,"  observed  one  of 
the  company;  and  I  tell  you  what  he  said,  that 
you  may  keep  in  mind  what  gormandizers  they 
were.  "For  my  part,  if  I  were  the  owner  of 
the  palace,  I  would  bid  my  gardener  cultivate 
nothing  but  savory  pot-herbs  to  make  a  stuffing 
for  roast  meat,  or  to  flavor  a  stew  with. ' ' 

"Well  said!"  cried  the  others.  "But  I'll 
warrant  you  there's  a  kitchen-garden  in  the  rear 
of  the  palace. ' ' 

At  one  place  they  came  to  a  crystal  spring, 
and  paused  to  drink  at  it  for  want  of  liquor, 
which  they  liked  better.  Looking  into  its 
bosom,  they  beheld  their  own  faces  dimly 
reflected,  but  so  extravagantly  distorted  by  the 
gush  and  motion  of  the  water,  that  each  one  of 
them  appeared  to  be  laughing  at  himself  and 
all  his  companions.  So  ridiculous  were  these 
images  of  themselves,  indeed,  that  they  did 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  159 

really  laugh  aloud,  and  could  hardly  be  grave 
again  as  soon  as  they  wished.  And  after  they 
had  drank,  they  grew  still  merrier  than  before. 

44 It  has  a  twang  of  the  wine-cask  in  it,"  said 
one,  smacking  his  lips. 

"Make  haste!"  cried  his  fellows;  "we'll  find 
the  wine  cask  itself  at  the  palace ;  and  that  will 
be  better  than  a  hundred  crystal  fountains. " 

Then  they  quickened  their  pace,  and  capered 
for  joy  at  the  thought  of  the  savory  banquet  at 
which  they  hoped  to  be  guests.  But  Eurylo- 
chus  told  them  that  he  felt  as  if  he  were  walk 
ing  in  a  dream. 

"If  lam  really  awake,"  continued  he,  "then, 
in  my  opinion,  we  are  on  the  point  of  meeting 
with  some  stranger  adventure  than  any  that 
befell  us  in  the  cave  of  Polyphemus,  or  among 
the  gigantic  man-eating  Laestrygons,  or  in  the 
windy  palace  of  King  Aeolus,  which  stands  on 
a  brazen- walled  island.  This  kind  of  dreamy 
feeling  always  comes  over  me  before  any  won 
derful  occurrence.  If  you  take  my  advice,  you 
will  turn  back." 

"No,  no,"  answered  his  comrades,  snuffing 
the  air,  in  which  the  scent  from  the  palace 
kitchen  was  now  very  perceptible.  "We 
would  not  turn  back,  though  we  were  certain 
that  the  king  of  the  Laestrygons,  as  big  as  a 


160  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

mountain,  would  sit  at  the  head  of  the  table, 
and  huge  Polyphemus,  the  one-eyed  Cyclops, 
at  its  foot. ' ' 

At  length  they  came  within  full  sight  of  the 
palace,  which  proved  to  be  very  large  and 
lofty,  with  a  great  number  of  airy  pinnacles 
upon  its  roof.  Though  it  was  now  midday,  and 
the  sun  shone  brightly  over  the  marble  front, 
yet  its  snowy  whiteness,  and  its  fantastic  style 
of  architecture,  made  it  look  unreal,  like  the 
frostwork  on  a  window-pane,  or  like  the  shapes 
of  castles  which  one  sees  among  the  clouds  by 
moonlight.  But,  just  then,  a  puff  of  wind 
brought  down  the  smoke  of  the  kitchen  chim 
ney  among  them,  and  caused  each  man  to  smell 
the  odor  of  the  dish  that  he  liked  best;  and, 
after  scenting  it,  they  thought  everything  else 
moonshine,  and  nothing  real  save  this  palace, 
and  save  the  banquet  that  was  evidently  ready 
to  be  served  up  in  it. 

So  they  hastened  their  steps  towards  the 
portal,  but  had  not  got  half  way  across  the 
wide  lawn,  when  a  pack  of  lions,  tigers,  and 
wolves  came  bounding  to  meet  them.  The 
terrified  mariners  started  back,  expecting  no 
better  fate  than  to  be  torn  to  pieces  and 
devoured.  To  their  surprise  and  joy,  how 
ever,  these  wild  beasts  merely  capered  around 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  161 

them,  wagging  their  tails,  offering  their  heads 
to  be  stroked  and  patted  and  behaving  just  like 
so  many  well-bred  house-dogs,  when  they  wish 
to  express  their  delight  at  meeting  their  mas 
ter,  or  their  master's  friends.  The  biggest 
lion  licked  the  feet  of  Eurylochus ;  and  every 
other  lion,  and  every  wolf  and  tiger,  singled 
out  one  of  his  two-and-twenty  followers,  whom 
the  beast  fondled  as  if  he  loved  him  better 
than  a  beef -bone. 

But,  for  all  that,  Eurylochus  imagined  that 
he  saw  something  fierce  and  savage  in  their 
eyes;  nor  would  he  have  been  surprised  at  any 
moment,  to  feel  the  big  lion's  terrible  claws, 
or  to  see  each  of  the  tigers  make  a  deadly 
spring,  or  each  wolf  leap  at  the  throat  of  the 
man  whom  he  had  fondled.  Their  mildness 
seemed  unreal,  and  a  mere  freak;  but  their 
savage  nature  was  as  true  as  their  teeth  and 
claws. 

Nevertheless,  the  men  went  safely  across  the 
lawn  with  the  wild  beasts  frisking  about  them, 
and  doing  no  manner  of  harm;  although,  as 
they  mounted  the  steps  of  the  palace,  you 
might  possibly  have  heard  a  low  growl,  partic 
ularly  from  the  wolves,  as  if  they  thought  it  a 
pity,  after  all,  to  let  the  strangers  pass  without 
so  much  as  tasting  what  they  were  made  of. 

11    Tanglowood  Tales 


162  TANGLE  WOOD  TALES. 

Eurylochus  and  his  followers  now  passed 
under  a  lofty  portal  and  looked  through  the 
open  door- way  into  the  interior  of  the  palace. 
The  first  thing  that  they  saw  was  a  spacious 
hall  and  a  fountain  in  the  middle  of  it,  gushing 
up  towards  the  ceiling  out  of  a  marble  basin, 
and  falling  back  into  it  with  a  continual  plash. 
The  water  of  this  fountain,  as  it  spouted 
upward,  was  constantly  taking  new  shapes, 
not  very  distinctly,  but  plainly  enough  for  a 
nimble  fancy  to  recognize  what  they  were. 
Now  it  was  the  shape  of  a  man  in  a  long  robe, 
the  fleecy  whiteness  of  which  was  made  out  of 
the  fountain's  spray;  now  it  was  a  lion,  or  a 
tiger,  or  a  wolf,  or  an  ass,  or,  as  often  as  any 
thing  else,  a  hog,  wallowing  in  the  marble 
basin,  as  if  it  were  his  sty.  It  was  either 
magic  or  some  very  curious  machinery  that 
caused  the  gushing  water-spout  to  assume  all 
these  forms.  But,  before  the  strangers  had 
time  to  look  closely  at  this  wonderful  sight, 
their  attention  was  drawn  off  'by  a  very  sweet 
and  agreeable  sound.  A  woman's  voice  was 
singing  melodiously  in  another  room  of  the 
palace,  and  with  her  voice  was  mingled  the 
noise  of  a  loom,  at  which  she  was  probably 
seated,  weaving  a  rich  texture  of  cloth,  and 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES  163 

intertwining  the  high  and  low  sweetness  of  her 
voice  into  a  rich  tissue  of  harmony. 

By  and  by  the  song  came  to  an  end;  and 
then,  all  at  once,  there  were  several  feminine 
voices  talking  airily  and  cheerfully,  with  now 
and  then  a  merry  burst  of  laughter,  such  as 
you  may  always  hear  when  three  or  four  young 
women  sit  at  work  together. 

" What  a  sweet  song  that  was!"  exclaimed 
one  of  the  voyagers. 

"Too  sweet,  indeed,"  answered  Eurylochus, 
shaking  his  head.  "  Yet  it  was  not  so  sweet  as 
the  song  of  the  Sirens,  those  bird-like  damsels 
who  wanted  to  tempt  us  on  the  rocks,  so  that 
our  vessel  might  be  wrecked,  and  our  bones 
left  whitening  along  the  shore." 

"But  just  listen  to  the  pleasant  voices  of  those 
maidens,  and  that  buzz  of  the  loom,  as  the 
shuttle  passes  to  and  fro, ' '  said  another  com 
rade.  "What  a  domestic,  househeld,  homelike 
sound  it  is!  Ah,  before  that  weary  siege  of 
Troy  I  used  to  hear  the  buzzing  loom  and  the 
woman's  voices  under  my  own  roof.  Shall  I 
never  hear  them  again,  nor  taste  those  nice 
little  savory  dishes  which  my  dearest  wife 
knew  how  to  serve  up?" 

"Tush!  we  shall  fare  better  here,"  said 
another.  "But  how  innocently  those  women 


164  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

are  babbling  together,  without  guessing  that 
we  overhear  them!  And  mark  that  richest 
voice  of  all,  so  pleasant  and  familiar,  but  which 
yet  seems  to  have  the  authority  of  a  mistress 
among  them.  Let  us  show  ourselves  at  once. 
What  harm  can  the  lady  of  the  palace  and  her 
maidens  do  to  mariners  and  warriors  like  us?" 

"Remember,"  said  Eurylochus,  "that  it 
was  a  young  maiden  who  beguiled  three  of  our 
friends  into  the  palace  of  the  king  of  Laestry- 
gons,  who  ate  up  one  of  them  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye. ' ' 

No  warning  or  persuasion,  however,  had  any 
effect  on  his  companions.  They  went  up  to  a 
pair  of  folding  doors  at  the  farther  end  of  the 
hall,  and  throwing  them  wide  open,  passed  into 
the  next  room.  Eurylochus,  meanwhile,  had 
stepped  behind  a  pillar.  In  the  short  moment 
while  the  folding-doors  opened  and  closed 
again,  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  very  beautiful 
woman  rising  from  the  loom,  and  coming  to 
meet  the  poor  weather-beaten  wanderers,  with 
a  hospitable  smile  and  her  hand  stretched  out 
in  welcome.  There  were  four  other  young 
women,  who  joined  their  hands  and  danced 
merrily  forward,  making  gestures  of  obeisance 
to  the  strangers.  They  were  only  less  beauti 
ful  than  the  lady  who  seemed  to  be  their  mis- 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  165 

tress.  Yet  Eurylochus  fancied  that  one  of 
them  had  sea-green  hair,  and  that  the  close- 
fitting  bodice  of  a  second  looked  like  the  bark 
of  a  tree,  and  that  both  the  others  had  some 
thing  odd  in  their  aspect,  although  he  could 
not  quite  determine  what  it  was  in  the  little 
while  that  he  had  to  examine  them. 

The  folding  doors  swung  quickly  back,  and 
left  him  standing  behind  the  pillar  in  the  soli 
tude  of  the  outer  hall.  There  Eurylochus 
waited  until  he  was  quite  weary,  and  listened 
eagerly  to  every  sound,  but  without  hearing 
anything  that  could  help  him  to  guess  what 
had  become  of  his  friends.  Footsteps,  it  is 
true,  seemed  to  be  passing  and  repassing  in 
other  parts  of  the  palace.  Then  there  was  a 
clatter  of  silver  dishes  or  golden  ones,  which 
made  him  imagine  a  rich  feast  in  a  splendid 
banqueting-hall.  But  by  and  by  he  heard  a 
tremendous  grunting  and  squealing,  and  then  a 
sudden  scampering,  like  that  of  small,  hard 
hoofs  over  a  marble  floor,  while  the  voices  of 
the  mistress  and  her  four  handmaidens  were 
screaming  all  together  in  tones  of  anger  and  de 
rision.  Eurylochus  could  not  conceive  what  had 
happened,  unless  a  drove  of  swine  had  broken 
into  the  palace,  attracted  by  the  smell  of  the 
feast.  Chancing  to  cast  his  eyes  at  the  foun- 


166  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

tain,  he  saw  that  it  did  not  shift  its  shape,  as 
formerly,  nor  looked  either  like  a  long-robed 
man,  or  a  lion,  a  tiger,  a  wolf,  or  an  ass.  It 
looked  like  nothing  but  a  hog,  which  lay  wal 
lowing  in  the  marble  basin,  and  filled  it  from 
brim  to  brim. 

But  we  must  leave  the  prudent  Eurylochus 
waiting  in  the  outer  hall,  and  follow  his  friends 
into  the  inner  secrecy  of  the  palace.  As  soon 
as  the  beautiful  woman  saw  them,  she  arose 
from  the  loom,  as  I  have  told  you,  and  came 
forward  smiling  and  stretching  out  her  hand. 
She  took  the  hand  of  the  foremost  among  them, 
and  bade  him  and  the  whole  party  welcome. 

"You  have  been  long  expected,  my  good 
friends,'*  said  she.  "I  and  my  maidens  are 
well  acquainted  with  you,  although  you  do  not 
appear  to  recognize  us.  Look  at  this  piece  of 
tapestry,  and  judge  if  your  faces  must  not  have 
been  familiar  to  us." 

So  the  voyagers  examined  the  web  of  cloth 
which  the  beautiful  woman  had  been  weaving 
in  her  loom,  .and,  to  their  vast  astonishment, 
they  saw  their  own  figures  perfectly  represented 
in  different  colored  threads.  It  was  a  life-like 
picture  of  their  recent  adventures,  showing 
them  in  the  cave  of  Polyphemus,  and  how  they 
had  put  out  his  one  great  moony  eye ;  while  in 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  167 

another  part  of  the  tapestry  they  were  untying 
leathern  bags,  puffed  out  with  contrary  winds; 
and  further  on,  they  beheld  themselves  scamp 
ering  away  from  the  gigantic  king  of  the 
Laestrygons,  who  had  caught  one  of  them  by 
the  leg.  Lastly,  there  they  were,  sitting  on 
the  desolate  shore  of  this  very  island,  hungry 
and  downcast,  and  looking  ruefully  at  the  bare 
bones  of  the  stag  which  they  devoured  yester 
day.  This  was  as  far  as  the  work  had  yet  pro 
ceeded;  but  when  the  beautiful  woman  should 
again  sit  down  at  her  loom,  she  would  probably 
make  a  picture  of  what  had  since  happened  to 
the  strangers  and  of  what  was  now  going  to 
happen. 

44 You  see,"  she  said,  "that  I  know  all  about 
your  troubles;  and  you  cannot  doubt  that  I 
desire  to  make  you  happy  for  as  long  a  time  as 
you  may  remain  with  me.  For  this  purpose, 
my  honored  guests,  I  have  ordered  a  banquet 
to  be  prepared.  Fish,  fowl,  and  flesh,  roasted, 
and  in  luscious  stews,  and  seasoned,  I  trust,  to 
all  your  tastes,  are  ready  to  be  served  up.  If 
your  appetites  tell  you  it  is  dinner-time,  then 
come  with  me  to  the  festal  saloon.  ' ' 

At  this  kind  invitation,  the  hungry  mariners 
were  quite  overjoyed ;  and  one  of  them,  taking 
upon  himself  to  be  spokesman,  assured  their 


168  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

hospitable  hostess  that  any  hour  of  the  day  was 
dinner  time  with  them,  whenever  they  could 
get  flesh  to  put  in  the  pot,  and  fire  to  boil  with. 
So  the  beautiful  woman  led  the  way ;  and  the 
four  maidens  (one  of  them  had  sea-green  hair, 
another  a  bodice  of  oak  bark,  a  third  sprinkled 
a  shower  of  water-drops  from  her  fingers'  ends, 
and  the  fourth  had  some  other  oddity,  which  I 
have  forgotten),  all  these  followed  behind,  and 
hurried  the  guests  along,  until  they  entered  a 
magnificent  saloon.  It  was  built  in  a  perfect 
oval,  and  lighted  from  a  crystal  dome  above. 
Around  the  walls  were  ranged  two-and-twenty 
thrones,  overhung  by  canopies  of  crimson  and 
gold,  and  provided  with  the  softest  of  cushions, 
which  were  tasselled  and  fringed  with  gold 
cord.  Each  of  the  strangers  was  invited  to  sit 
down;  and  there  they  were,  two-and-twenty 
storm-beaten  mariners,  in  worn  and  tattered 
garb,  sitting  on  two-and-twenty  cushioned  and 
canopied  thrones,  so  rich  and  gorgeous  that  the 
proudest  monarch  had  nothing  more  splendid 
in  his  stateliest  hall. 

Then  you  might  have  seen  the  guests  nod^ 
ding,  winking  with  one  eye,  and  leaning  from 
one  throne  to  another,  to  communicate  their 
satisfaction  in  hoarse  whispers. 

"  Our  good  hostess  has  made  kings  of  us  all," 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  169 

said  one.  "Ha!  do  you  smell  the  feast?  I'll 
engage  it  will  be  fit  to  set  before  two-and- 
twenty  kings. ' ' 

"I  hope,"  said  another,  "it  will  be,  mainly, 
good  substantial  joints,  sirloins,  spareribs,  and 
hinder  quarters,  without  too  many  kickshaws. 
If  I  thought  the  good  lady  would  not  take  it 
amiss,  I  should  call  for  a  fat  slice  of  fried  bacon 
to  begin  with. " 

Ah,  the  gluttons  and  gormandizers!  You 
see  how  it  was  with  them.  In  the  loftiest  seats 
of  dignity,  on  royal  thrones,  they  could  think 
of  nothing  but  their  greedy  appetite,  which  was 
the  portion  of  their  nature  that  they  shared 
with  wolves  and  swine;  so  that  they  resembled 
those  vilest  of  animals  far  more  than  they  did 
kings — if,  indeed,  kings  were  what  they  ought 
to  be. 

But  the  beautiful  woman  now  clapped  her 
hands  and  immediately  there  entered  a  train 
of  two-and-twenty  serving- men,  bringing 
dishes  of  the  richest  food,  all  hot  from  the 
kitchen  fire,  and  sending  up  such  a  steam  that 
it  hung  like  a  cloud  below  the  crystal  dome  of 
the  saloon.  An  equal  number  of  attendants 
brought  great  flagons  of  wine,  of  various  kinds, 
some  of  which  sparkled  as  it  was  poured  out, 
and  went  bubbling  down  the  throat;  while,  of 


170  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

other  sorts,  the  purple  liquor  was  so  clear  that 
you  could  see  the  wrought  figures  at  the  bot 
tom  of  the  goblet.  While  the  servants  sup 
plied  the  two-and-twenty  guests  with  food  and 
drink,  the  hostess  and  her  four  maidens  went 
from  one  throne  to  another  exhorting  them  to 
eat  their -fill,  and  to  quaff  wine  abundantly,  and 
thus  to  recompense  themselves,  at  this  one 
banquet,  for  the  many  days  when  they  had 
gone  without  a  dinner.  But,  whenever  the 
mariners  were  not  looking  at  them  (which  was 
pretty  often,  as  they  looked  chiefly  into  the 
basins  and  platters),  the  beautiful  woman  and 
her  damsels  turned  aside  and  laughed.  Even  the 
servants,  as  they  knelt  down  to  present  the 
dishes,  might  be  seen  to  grin  and  sneer,  while 
the  guests  were  helping  themselves  to  the 
offered  dainties. 

And,  once  in  a  while,  the  strangers  seemed  to 
taste  something  that  they  did  not  like. 

"Here  is  an  odd  kind  of  a  spice  in  this  dish," 
said  one.  "I  can't  say  it  quite  suits  my  palate. 
Down  it  goes,  however." 

44  Send  a  good  draught  of  wine  down  your 
throat,"  said  his  comrade  on  the  next  throne. 
"That  is  the  stuff  to  make  this  sort  of  cookery 
relish  well.  Though  I  must  needs  say,  the 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  171 

wine  has  a  queer  taste,  too.       But  the  more  I 
drink  of  it  the  better  I  like  the  flavor. ' ' 

Whatever  little  fault  they  might  find  with 
the  dishes  they  sat  at  dinner  a  prodigiously 
long  while ;  and  it  would  really  have  made  you 
ashamed  to  see  how  they  swilled  down  the 
liquor  and  gobbled  up  the  food.  They  sat  on 
golden  thrones,  to  be  sure ;  but  they  behaved 
like  pigs  in  a  sty ;  and,  if  they  had  had  their 
wits  about  them,  they  might  have  guessed  that 
this  was  the  opinion  of  their  beautiful  hostess 
and  her  maidens.  It  brings  a  blush  into  my 
face  to  reckon  up,  in  my  own  mind,  what 
mountains  of  meat  and  pudding,  and  what  gal 
lons  of  wine,  these  two-and-twenty  guzzlers 
and  gormandizers  ate  and  drank.  They  forgot 
all  about  their  homes,  and  their  wives  and 
children,  and  all  about  Ulysses,  and  everything 
else,  except  this  banquet,  at  which  they  wanted 
to  keep  feasting  forever.  But  at  length  they 
began  to  give  over,  from  mere  incapacity  to 
hold  any  more. 

"That  last  bit  of  fat  is  too  much  for  me," 
said  one. 

"And  I  have  not  room  for  another  morsel," 
said  his  next  neighbor,  heaving  a  sigh. 
44 What  a  pity!  My  appetite  is  as  sharp  as 
ever." 


172  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

In  short,  they  all  left  off  eating,  and  leaned 
baek  on  their  thrones,  with  such  a  stupid  and 
helpless  aspect  as  made  them  ridiculous  to 
behold.  When  their  hostess  saw  this,  she 
laughed  aloud;  so  did  her  four  damsels;  so  did 
the  two-and-twenty  serving  men  that  bore  the 
dishes,  and  their  two-and-twenty  fellows  that 
poured  out  the  wine.  And  the  louder  they  all 
laughed,  the  more  stupid  and  helpless  did  the 
two-and-twenty  gormandizers  look.  Then  the 
beautiful  woman  took  her  stand  in  the  middle 
of  the  saloon,  and  stretching  out  a  slender  rod 
(it  had  been  all  the  while  in  her  hand,  although 
they  never  noticed  it  till  this  moment),  she 
turned  it  from  one  guest  to  another,  until  each 
had  felt  it  pointed  at  himself.  Beautiful  as  her 
face  was,  and  though  there  was  a  smile  on  it, 
it  looked  just  as  wicked  and  mischievous  as  the 
ugliest  serpent  that  ever  was  seen;  and  fat- 
witted  as  the  voyagers  had  made  themselves, 
they  began  to  suspect  that  they  had  fallen  into 
the  power  of  an  evil-minded  enchantress. 

"Wretches,"  cried  she,  "you  have  abused  a 
lady's  hospitality;  and  in  this  princely  saloon 
your  behavior  has  been  suited  to  a  hogpen. 
You  are  already  swine  in  everything  but  the 
human  form,  which  you  disgrace,  and  which  I 
myself  should  be  ashamed  to  keep  a  moment 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  173 

longer,  were  you  to  share  it  with  me.  But  it 
will  require  only  the  slightest  exercise  of  magic 
to  make  the  exterior  conform  to  the  hoggish 
disposition.  Assume  your  proper  shapes, 
gormandizers,  and  begone  to  the  sty!" 

Uttering  these  last  words,  she  waved  her 
wand;  and  stamping  her  foot  imperiously,  each 
of  the  guests  was  struck  aghast  at  beholding, 
instead  of  his  comrades  in  human  shape,  one- 
and-twenty  hogs  sitting  on  the  same  number 
of  golden  thrones.  Each  man  (as  he  still  sup 
posed  himself  to  be)  essayed  to  give  a  cry  of 
surprise,  but  found  that  he  could  merely  grunt, 
and,  that  in  a  word  he  was  just  such  another 
beast  as  his  companions.  It  looked  so  intoler 
ably  absurd  to  see  hogs  on  cushioned  thrones, 
that  they  made  haste  to  wallow  down  upon  all 
fours,  like  other  swine.  They  tried  to  groan 
and  beg  for  mercy,  but  forthwith  emitted  the 
most  awful  grunting  and  squealing  that  ever 
came  out  of  swinish  throats.  They  would 
have  wrung  their  hands  in  despair,  but, 
attempting  to  do  so,  grew  all  the  more  desper 
ate  for  seeing  themselves  squatted  on  their 
hams,  and  pawing  the  air  with  their  fore  trot 
ters.  Dear  me !  what  pendulous  ears  they  had ! 
what  little  red  eyes,  half  buried  in  fat!  and 
what  long  snouts,  instead  of  Grecian  noses! 


174  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

But  brutes  as  they  certainly  were,  they  yet 
had  enough  of  human  nature  in  them  to  be 
shocked  at  their  own  hideousness;  and,  still 
intending  to  groan,  they  uttered  a  viler  grunt 
and  squeal  than  before.  So  harsh  and  ear- 
piercing  it  was  that  you  would  have  fancied  a 
butcher  was  sticking  his  knife  into  each  of  their 
throats,  or,  at  the  very  least,  that  somebody 
was  pulling  every  hog  by  his  funny  little  twist 
of  a  tail. 

"  Begone  to  your  sty!"  cried  the  enchantress, 
giving  them  some  smart  strokes  with  her  wand ; 
and  then  she  turned  to  the  serving-men,  ' '  Drive 
out  these  swine,  and  throw  down  some  acorns 
for  them  to  eat. " 

The  door  of  the  saloon  being  flung  open,  the 
drove  of  hogs  ran  in  all  directions  save  the 
right  one,  in  accordance  with  their  hoggish 
perversity,  but  were  finally  driven  into  the 
back  yard  of  the  palace.  It  was  a  sight  to 
bring  tears  into  one's  eyes  (and  I  hope  none  of 
you  will  be  cruel  enough  to  laugh  at  it),  to  see 
the  poor  creatures  go  snuffing  along,  picking 
up  here  a  cabbage  leaf  and  there  a  turnip-top, 
and  rooting  their  noses  in  the  earth  for  what 
ever  they  could  find.  In  their  sty,  moreover, 
they  behaved  more  piggishly  than  the  pigs  that 
had  been  born  so ;  for  they  bit  and  snorted  at 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  175 

one  another,  put  their  feet  in  the  trough,  and 
gobbled  up  their  victuals  in  a  ridiculous  hurry ; 
and,  when  there  was  nothing  more  to  be  had, 
they  made  a  great  pile  of  themselves  among 
soi-ie  unclean  straw,  and  fell  fast  asleep.  If 
the/  had  any  human  reason  left,  it  was  just 
enough  to  keep  them  wondering  when  they 
slioul-"  be  slaughtered,  and  what  quality  of 
bacon  they  should  make. 

Meantime,  as  I  told  you  before,  Eurylochus 
had  waited,  and  waited,  and  waited,  in  the  en 
trance-hall  of  the  palace,  without  being  able  to 
comprehend  what  had  befallen  his  friends.  At 
last,  \vhen  the  swinish  uproar  resounded  through 
the  palace,  and  when  he  saw  the  image  of 
a  hog  in  the  marble  basin,  he  thought  it  best 
to  hasten  back  to  the  vessel,  and  inform  the 
wise  Ulysses  of  these  marvelous  occurrences. 
So  he  ran  as  fast  as  he  could  down  the  steps, 
and  never  stopped  to  draw  breath  till  he 
reached  the  shore. 

44 Why  do  you  come  alone?"  asked  King 
Ulysses,  as  soon  as  he  saw  him.  "Where  are 
your  two- and- twenty  comrades?" 

At  these  questions,  Eurylochus  burst  into 
tears. 

4  *  Alas!"  cried  he,  4tl  greatly  fear  that  we 
shall  never  see  one  of  their  faces  again." 


176  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

Then  he  told  Ulysses  all  that  had  happened, 
as  far  as  he  knew  it,  and  added  that  he  sus 
pected  the  beautiful  woman  to  be  a  vile 
enchantress  and  the  marble  palace,  magniiV 
cent  as  it  looked,  to  be  only  a  dismal  cavern  in 
reality.  As  for  his  companions,  he  could  n^t 
imagine  what  had  become  of  them,  unless  they 
had  been  given  to  the  swine  to  be  devoured 
alive.  At  this  intelligence  all  the  voyagers 
were  greatly  affrighted.  But  Ulysses  lost  no 
time  in  girding  on  his  sword,  and  hanging  his 
bow  and  quiver  over  his  shoulders,  and  taking 
a  spear  in  his  right  hand.  When  his  follower 
saw  their  wise  leader  making  these  Drcpai: 
tions,  they  inquired  whither  he  was  go:.ng,  and 
earnestly  besought  him  not  to  leave  tliem. 

"You  are  our  king,"  cried  they,  "and  what 
is  more,  you  are  the  wisest  man  in  the  whole 
world,  and  nothing  but  your  wisdom  and  cour 
age  can  get  us  out  01  this  danger.  If  you 
desert  us,  and  go  to  the  enchanted  palace,  you 
will  suffer  the  same  fate  as  our  poor  compan 
ions,  and  not  a  soul  of  us  will  ever  see  our  dear 
Ithaca  again. ' ' 

41  As  I  am  your  king,"  answered  Ulysses, 
44 and  wiser  than  any  of  you,  it  is  therefore  the 
more  my  duty  to  see  what  has  befallen  our 
comrades,  and  whether  anything  can  yet  be 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  177 

done  to  rescue  them.  Wait  for  me  here  until 
to-morrow.  If  I  do  not  then  return,  you  must 
hoist  sail,  and  endeavor  to  find  your  way  to  our 
native  land.  For  my  part,  I  am  answerable 
for  the  fate  of  these  poor  mariners,  who  have 
stood  by  my  side  in  battle,  and  been  so  often 
drenched  to  the  skin,  along  with  me,  by  the 
same  tempestuous  surges.  I  will  either  bring 
them  back  with  me  or  perish. " 

Had  his  followers  dared,  they  would  have 
detained  him  by  force.  But  King  Ulysses 
frowned  sternly  on  them,  and  shook  his  spear, 
and  bade  them  stop  him  at  their  peril.  Seeing 
him  so  determined,  they  let  him  go,  and  sat 
down  on  the  sand,  as  disconsolate  a  set  of  peo 
ple  as  could  be,  waiting  and  praying  for  his 
return. 

It  happened  to  Ulysses,  just  as  before,  that, 
when  he  had  gone  a  few  steps  from  the  edge 
of  the  cliff,  the  purple  bird  came  fluttering 
towards  him,  crying,  "Peep,  peep,  pe — weep!" 
and  using  all  the  art  it  could  to  persuade  him 
to  go  no  farther. 

44  What  mean  you,  little  bird?"  cried  Ulysses. 
44 You  are  arrayed  like  a  king  in  purple  and 
gold,  and  wear  a  golden  crown  upon  your  head. 
Is  it  because  I  too  am  a  king,  that  you  desire  so 
earnestly  to  speak  with  me?  If  you  can  talk 

12    Tanglewood  Tales 


178  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

in  human  language,  say  what  you  would  have 
me  do." 

"Peep!"  answered  the  purple  bird,  very  dol 
orously.  "Peep,  peep,  pe — we — ep!" 

Certainly  there  lay  some  heavy  anguish  at 
the  little  bird's  heart,  and  it  was  a  sorrowful 
predicament  that  he  could  not,  at  least,  have 
the  consolation  of  telling  what  it  was.  But 
Ulysses  had  no  time  to  waste  in  trying  to  get 
at  the  mystery.  He  therefore  quickened  his 
pace,  and  had  gone  a  good  way  along  the 
pleasant  wood-path,  when  there  met  him  a 
young  man  of  very  brisk  and  intelligent  aspect, 
and  clad  in  a  rather  singular  garb.  He  wore 
a  short  cloak,  and  a  sort  of  cap  that  seemed  to 
be  furnished  with  a  pair  of  wings;  and  from 
the  lightness  of  his  step,  you  would  have  sup 
posed  that  there  might  likewise  be  wings  on  his 
feet.  To  enable  him  to  walk  still  better  (for  he 
was  always  on  one  journey  or  another),  he  car 
ried  a  winged  staff,  around  which  two  serpents 
were  wriggling  and  twisting.  In  short,  I  have 
said  enough  to  make  you  guess  that  it  was 
Quicksilver;  and  Ulysses  (who  knew  him  of 
old,  and  had  learned  a  great  deal  of  his  wis 
dom  from  him)  recognized  him  in  a  moment. 

"Whither  are  you  going  in  such  a  hurry, 
wise  Ulysses?"  asked  Quicksilver.  "Do  you 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES,  179 

not  know  that  this  island  is  enchanted?  The 
wicked  enchantress  (whose  name  is  Circe,  the 
sister  of  King  Aetes)  dwells  in  the  marble 
palace  which  you  see  yonder  among  the  trees. 
By  her  magic  arts,  she  changes  every  human 
being  into  the  brute,  beast,  or  fowl  whom  he 
happens  most  to  resemble." 

"That  little  bird,  which  met  me  at  the  edge 
of  the  cliff,"  exclaimed  Ulysses;  "was  he  a 
human  being  once?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Quicksilver.  "He  was 
once  a  king,  named  Picus,  and  a  pretty  good 
sort  of  a  king  too,  only  rather  too  proud  of  his 
purple  robe,  and  his  crown,  and  the  golden 
chain  about  his  neck ;  so  he  was  forced  to  take 
the  shape  of  a  gaudy-feathered  bird.  The 
lions,  and  wolves,  and  tigers,  who  will  come 
running  to  meet  you,  in  front  of  the  palace, 
were  formerly  fierce  and  cruel  men,  resembling 
in  their  dispositions  the  wild  beasts  whose 
forms  they  now  rightfully  wear." 

"And  my  poor  companions,"  said  Ulysses, 
"have  they  undergone  a  similar  change, 
through  the  arts  of  this  wicked  Circe?" 

"You  well  know   what   gormandizers   they 

were,"  replied  Quicksilver;  and,  rogue  that  he 

was,   he  could  not  help  laughing  at  the  joke. 

4  So  you  will  not  be  surprised  to  hear  that  they 


180  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

have  all  taken  the  shapes  of  swine!  If  Cierce 
had  never  done  anything-  worse,  1  really  should 
not  think  her  so  very  much  to  blame. " 

44 But  can  I  do  nothing  to  help  them?"  in 
quired  Ulysses. 

*  *  It  will  require  all  your  wisdom,  * '  said  Quick 
silver,  4tand  a  little  of  my  own  into  the  bar 
gain,  to  keep  your  royal  and  sagacious  self  from 
being  transformed  into  a  fox.  But  do  as  I  bid 
you;  and  the  matter  may  end  better  than  it 
has  begun." 

While  he  was  speaking,  Quicksilver  seemed 
to  be  in  search  of  something ;  he  went  stooping 
along  the  ground,  and  soon  laid  his  hand  on  a 
little  plant  with  a  snow-white  flower,  which  he 
plucked  and  smelt  of.  Ulysses  had  been  look 
ing  at  that  very  spot  only  just  before;  and  it 
appeared  to  him  that  the  plant  had  burst  into 
full  flower  the  instant  when  Quicksilver  touched 
it  with  his  fingers. 

44  Take  this  flower,  King  Ulysses, "  said  he. 
44Guard  it  as  you  do  your  eyesignt;  for  I  can 
assure  you  it  is  exceeding  rare  and  precious, 
and  you  might  seek  the  whole  earth  over  with 
out  ever  finding  another  like  it.  Keep  it  in 
your  hand,  and  smell  of  it  frequently  after  you 
enter  the  palace,  and  while  you  are  talking 
with  the  enchantress.  Especially  when  she 


FANGLEWOOD   TALES.  181 

offers  you  food,  or  a  draught  of  wine  out  of  her 
goblet,  be  careful  to  fill  your  nostrils  with  the 
flower's  fragrance.  Follow  these  directions, 
and  you  may  defy  her  magic  arts  to  change 
you  into  a  fox. ' ' 

Quicksilver  then  gave  him  some  further 
advice  how  to  behave,  and,  bidding  him  be 
bold  and  prudent,  again  assured  him  that, 
powerful  as  Circe  was,  he  would  have  a  fair 
prospect  of  coming  safely  out  of  her  enchanted 
palace.  After  listening  attentively,  Ulysses 
thanked  his  good  friend,  and  resumed  his  way. 
But  he  had  taken  only  a  few  steps,  when, 
recollecting  some  other  questions  which  he 
wished  to  ask,  he  turned  around  again,  and 
beheld  nobody  on  the  spot  where  Quicksilver 
had  stood ;  for  that  winged  cap  of  his,  and  those 
winged  shoes,  with  the  help  of  the  winged 
staff,  had  carried  him  quickly  out  of  sight. 

When  Ulysses  reached  the  lawn,  in  front  of 
the  palace,  the  lions  and  other  savage  animals 
came  bounding  to  meet  him,  and  would  have 
fawned  upon  him  and  licked  his  feet.  But  the 
wise  king  struck  at  them  with  his  long  spear, 
and  sternly  bade  them  begone  out  of  his  path ; 
for  he  knew  that  they  had  once  been  blood 
thirsty  men,  and  would  now  tear  him  limb  from 
limb,  instead  of  fawning  upon  him,  could  they 


182  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

do  the  mischief  that  was  in  their  hearts.  The 
wild  beasts  yelped  and  glared  at  him,  and  stood 
at  a  distance  while  he  ascended  the  palace 
steps. 

On  entering  the  hall,  Ulysses  saw  the  magic 
fountain  in  the  centre  of  it.  The  up-gushing 
water  had  now  again  taken  the  shape  of  a  man 
in  a  long,  white,  fleecy  robe,  who  appeared  to 
be  making  gestures  of  welcome.  The  king 
likewise  heard  the  noise  of  the  shuttle  in  the 
loom,  and  the  sweet  melody  of  the  beautiful 
woman's  song,  and  then  the  pleasant  voices  of 
herself  and  the  four  maidens  talking  together, 
with  peals  of  merry  laughter  intermixed.  But 
Ulysses  did  not  waste  much  time  in  listening 
to  the  laughter  or  the  song.  He  leaned  his 
spear  against  one  of  the  pillars  of  the  hall,  and 
then,  after  loosening  his  sword  in  the  scabbard, 
stepped  boldly  forward,  and  threw  the  folding- 
doors  wide  open.  The  moment  she  beheld  his 
stately  figure  standing  in  the  doorway,  the 
beautiful  woman  rose  from  the  loom,  and  ran 
to  meet  him  with  a  glad  smile  throwing  its 
sunshine  over  her  face,  and  both  her  hands 
extended. 

" Welcome,  brave  stranger!"  cried  she. 
41  We  were  expecting  you." 

And  the  nymph  with  the  sea-green  hair  made 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  183 

a  courtesy  down  to  the  ground,  and  likewise 
bade  him  welcome ;  so  did  her  sister  with  the 
bodice  of  oaken  bark,  and  she  that  sprinkled 
dew-drops  from  her  ringers*  ends,  and  the 
fourth  one  with  some  oddity  which  I  cannot 
remember.  And  Circe,  as  the  beautiful 
enchantress  was  called  (who  had  deluded  so 
many  persons  that  she  did  not  doubt  of  being 
able  to  delude  Ulysses,  not  imagining  how 
wise  he  was),  again  addresses  him. 

4  *  Your  companions,"  said  she,  "have  already 
been  received  into  my  palace,  and  have  enjoyed 
the  hospitable  treatment  to  which  the  propriety 
of  their  behavior  so  well  entitled  them  If  such 
be  your  pleasure,  you  shall  first  take  some 
refreshment,  and  then  join  them  in  the  elegant 
apartment  which  they  now  occupy.  See,  I  and 
my  maidens  have  been  weaving  their  figures 
into  this  piece  of  tapestry. ' ' 

She  pointed  to  the  web  of  beautifully  woven 
cloth  in  the  loom.  Circe  and  the  four  nymphs 
must  have  been  very  diligently  at  work  since 
the  arrival  of  the  mariners ;  for  a  great  many 
yards  of  tapestry  had  now  been  wrought,  in 
addition  to  what  I  before  described.  In  this 
new  part,  Ulysses  saw  his  two-and-twenty 
friends  represented  as  sitting  on  cushioned  and 
canopied  thrones,  greedily  devouring  dainties 


184  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

and  quaffing  deep  draughts  of  wine.  The 
work  had  not  yet  gone  any  further.  Oh  no, 
indeed.  The  echantress  was  far  too  cunning 
to  let  Ulysses  see  the  mischief  which  her  magic 
arts  had  since  brought  upon  the  gormandizers. 

4  *  As  for  yourself,  valiant  sir,"  said  Circe, 
44 judging  by  the  dignity  of  your  aspect,  I  take 
you  to  be  nothing  less  than  a  king.  Deign  to 
follow  me,  and  you  shall  be  treated  as  befits 
your  rank." 

So  Ulysses  followed  her  into  the  oval  saloon, 
where  his  two-and-twenty  comrades  had 
devoured  the  banquet,  which  ended  so  dis 
astrously  for  themselves.  But,  all  this  while, 
he  had  held  the  snow-white  flower  in  his  hand, 
and  had  occasionally  smelt  of  it  while  Circe  was 
speaking ;  and  as  he  crossed  the  threshold  of 
the  saloon,  he  took  good  care  to  inhale  several 
long  and  deep  snuffs  of  its  fragrance.  Instead 
of  two-and-twenty  thrones,  which  had  before 
been  ranged  around  the  wall,  there  was  now 
only  a  single  throne  in  the  centre  of  the  apart 
ment.  But  this  was  surely  the  most  magnifi 
cent  seat  that  ever  a  king  or  an  emperor 
reposed  himself  upon,  all  made  of  chased  gold, 
studded  with  precious  stones,  with  a  cushion 
that  looked  like  a  soft  heap  of  living  roses,  and 
overhung  by  a  canopy  of  sunlight,  which  Circe 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  185 

knew  how  to  weave  into  drapery.  The 
enchantress  took  Ulysses  by  the  hand,  and 
made  him  sit  down  upon  this  dazzling  throne. 
Then,  clapping  her  hands,  she  summoned  the 
chief  butler. 

44 Bring  hither,"  said  she,  "the  goblet  that  is 
set  apart  for  kings  to  drink  out  of.  And  fill  it 
with  the  same  delicious  wine  which  my  royal 
brother,  King  Aetes,  praised  so  highly,  when 
he  last  visited  me  with  my  fair  daughter 
Medea.  That  good  and  amiable  child !  Were 
she  now  here,  it  would  delight  her  to  see  me 
offering  this  wine  to  my  honored  guest. " 

But  Ulysses,  while  the  butler  was  gone  for 
the  wine,  held  the  snow-white  flower  to  his 
nose. 

44 Is  it  a  wholesme  wine?"  he  asked. 

At  this  the  four  maidens  tittered ;  whereupon 
the  enchantress  looked  round  at  them,  with  an 
aspect  of  severity. 

"It  is  the  wholesomest  juice  that  ever  was 
squeezed  out  of  the  grape,"  said  she;  "for, 
instead  of  disguising  a  man,  as  other  liquor  is 
apt  to  do,  it  brings  him  to  his  true  self,  and 
shows  him  as  he  ought  to  be. ' ' 

The  chief  butler  liked  nothing  better  than  to 
see  people  turned  into  swine,  or  making  any 
kind  of  a  beast  of  themselves ;  so  he  made 


186  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

haste  to  bring  the  royal  goblet,  filled  with  a 
liquid  as  bright  as  gold,  and  which  kept  spark 
ling  upward  and  throwing  a  sunny  spray  over 
the  brim.  But,  delightful  as  the  wine  looked, 
it  was  mingled  with  the  most  potent  enchant 
ments  that  Circe  knew  how  to  concoct.  For 
every  drop  of  the  pure  grape-juice  there  were 
two  drops  of  the  pure  mischief;  and  the  danger 
of  the  thing  was,  that  the  mischief  made  it- 
taste  all  the  better.  The  mere  smell  of  the 
bubbles,  which  effervesced  at  the  brim,  was 
enough  to  turn  a  man's  beard  into  pig's 
bristles,  or  make  a  lion's  claws  grow  out  of  his 
fingers,  or  a  fox's  brush  behind  him. 

44 Drink,  my  noble  guest,"  said  Circe,  smiling 
as  she  presented  him  with  the  goblet.  "You 
will  find  in  this  draught  a  solace  for  all  your 
troubles." 

King  Ulysses  took  the  goblet  with  his  right 
hand,  while  with  his  left  he  held  the  snow- 
white  flower  to  his  nostrils,  and  drew  in  so  long 
a  breath  that  his  lungs  were  quite  filled  with 
its  pure  and  simple  fragrance.  Then,  drinking 
off  all  the  wine,  he  looked  the  enchantress 
calmly  in  the  face. 

44  Wretch/'  cried  Circe,  giving  him  a  smart 
stroke  with  her  wand,  4<how  dare  you  keep  your 
human  shape  a  moment  longer?  Take  the  form 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  187 

of  the  brute  whom  you  most  resemble.  If  a 
hog,  go  join  your  fellow-swine  in  the  sty;  if  a 
lion,  a  wolf,  a  tiger,  go  howl  with  the  wild 
beasts  on  the  lawn ;  if  a  fox,  go  exercise  your 
craft  in  stealing  poultry.  Thou  hast  quaffed 
off  my  wine,  and  canst  be  man  no  longer. " 

But,  such  was  the  virtue  of  the  snow-white 
flower,  instead  of  wallowing  down  from 
his  throne  in  swinish  shape,  or  taking  any  other 
brutal  form,  Ulysses  looked  even  more  manly 
and  king-like  than  before.  He  gave  the  magic 
goblet  a  toss,  and  sent  it  clashing  over  the 
marble  floor,  to  the  furthest  end  of  the  saloon. 
Then,  drawing  his  sword,  he  seized  the 
enchantress  by  her  beautiful  ringlets,  and 
made  a  gesture  as  if  he  meant  to  strike  off  her 
head  at  one  blow. 

"Wicked  Circe,"  cried  he,  in  a  terrible  voice, 
"this  sword  shall  put  an  end  to  thy  enchant 
ments.  Thou  shalt  die,  vile  wretch,  and  do  no 
more  mischief  in  the  world,  by  tempting  human 
beings  into  the  vices  which  make  beasts  of 
them. " 

The  tone  and  countenance  of  Ulysses  were 
so  awful,  and  his  sword  gleamed  so  brightly, 
and  seemed  to  have  so  intolerably  keen  an 
edge,  that  Circe  was  almost  killed  by  the  mere 
fright,  without  waiting  for  a  blow.  The  chief 


188  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

butler  scrambled  out  of  the  saloon,  picking  up 
the  golden  goblet  as  he  went ;  and  the  enchant 
ress  and  the  four  maidens  fell  on  their  knees, 
wringing  their  hands,  and  screaming  for 
mercy. 

"Spare  me!"  cried  Circe, — "spare  me,  royal 
and  wise  Ulysses.  For  now  I  know  that  thou 
art  he  of  whom  Quicksilver  forewarned  me, 
the  most  prudent  of  mortals,  against  whom  no 
enchantments  can  prevail.  Thou  only  couldst 
have  conquered  Circe.  Spare  me,  wisest  of 
men.  I  will  show  thee  true  hospitality,  and 
even  give  myself  to  be  thy  slave,  and  this  mag 
nificent  palace  to  be  henceforth  thy  home/' 

The  four  nymphs,  meanwhile,  were  making 
a  most  piteous  ado ;  and  especially  the  ocean- 
nymph,  with  sea-green  hair,  wept  a  great  deal 
of  salt  water,  and  the  fountain-nymph,  besides 
scattering  dew-drops  from  her  fingers'  ends, 
nearly  melted  away  into  tears.  But  Ulysses 
would  not  be  pacified  until  Circe  had  taken 
a  solemn  oath  to  change  back  his  companions, 
and  as  many  others  as  he  should  direct,  from 
their  present  forms  of  beast  or  bird  into  their 
former  shapes  of  men. 

"On  these  conditions,"  said  he,  "I  consent 
to  spare  your  life.  Otherwise  you  must  die 
upon  the  spot. ' ' 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  189 

With  a  drawn  sword  hanging  over  her,  the 
enchantress  would  readily  have  consented  to 
do  as  much  good  as  she  had  hitherto  done  mis 
chief,  however  little  she  might  like  such 
employment.  She  therefore  led  Ulysses  out  of 
the  back  entrance  of  the  palace,  and  showed 
him  the  swine  in  their  sty.  There  were  about 
fifty  of  these  unclean  beasts  in  the  whole  herd ; 
and  though  the  greater  part  were  hogs  by  birth 
and  education,  there  was  wonderfully  little 
difference  to  be  seen  betwixt  them  and  their 
new  brethren  who  had  so  recently  worn  the 
human  shape.  To  speak  critically,  indeed, 
the  latter  rather  carried  the  thing  to  excess,  and 
seemed  to  make  it  a  point  to  wallow  in  the 
miriest  part  of  the  sty,  and  otherwise  to  outdo 
the  original  swine  in  their  own  natural  voca 
tion.  "When  men  once  turn  to  brutes,  the 
trifle  of  man's  wit  that  remains  in  them  adds 
tenfold  to  their  brutality. 

The  comrades  of  Ulysses,  however,  had  not 
quite  lost  the  remembrance  of  having  formerly 
stood  erect.  When  he  approached  the  sty, 
two-and-twenty  enormous  swine  separated 
themselves  from  the  herd  and  scampered 
towards  him,  with  such  a  chorus  of  horrible 
squealing  as  made  him  clap  both  hands  to  his 
ears.  And  yet  they  did  not  seem  to  know 


190  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

wfaat  they  wanted,  nor  whether  they  were 
merely  hungry,  or  miserable  from  some  other 
cause.  It  was  curious,  in  the  midst  of  their 
distress,  to  observe  them  thrusting  their  noses 
into  the  mire,  in  quest  of  something  to  eat. 
The  nymph  with  the  bodice  of  oaken  bark  (she 
was  the  hamadryad  of  an  oak)  threw  a  handful 
of  acorns  among  them ;  and  the  two-and-twenty 
hogs  scrambled  and  fought  for  the  prize,  as  if 
they  had  tasted  not  so  much  as  a  noggin  of 
sour  milk  for  a  twelvemonth. 

" These  must  certainly  be  my  comrades," 
said  Ulysses.  "I  recognize  their  dispositions. 
They  are  hardly  worth  the  trouble  of  changing 
them  into  the  human  form  again.  Neverthe 
less,  we  will  have  it  done,  lest  their  bad 
example  should  corrupt  the  other  hogs.  Let 
them  take  their  original  shapes,  therefore, 
Dame  Circe,  if  your  skill  is  equal  to  the  task. 
It  will  require  greater  magic,  I  trow,  than  it 
did  to  make  swine  of  them. ' ' 

So  Circe  waved  her  wand  again,  and  repeated 
a  few  magic  words,  at  the  sound  of  which  the 
two-and-twenty  hogs  pricked  up  their  pendul 
ous  ears.  It  was  a  wonder  to  behold  how 
their  snouts  grew  shorter  and  shorter,  and  their 
mouths  (which  they  seemed  to  be  sorry  for, 
because  they  could  not  gobble  so  expeditiously) 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  191 

smaller  and  smaller,  and  how  one  and  another 
began  to  stand  upon  his  hind  legs,  and  scratch 
his  nose,  with  his  fore  trotters.  At  first  the 
spectators  hardly  knew  whether  to  call  them 
ho£S  or  men,  but  by  and  by  came  to  the  con 
clusion  that  they  rather  resembled  the  latter. 
Finally,  there  stood  the  twenty- two  comrades 
of  Ulysses,  looking  pretty  much  the  same  as 
when  they  left  the  vessel. 

You  must  not  imagine,  however,  that  the 
swinish  quality  had  entirely  gone  out  of  them. 
When  once  it  fastens  itself  into  a  person's 
character,  it  is  very  difficult  getting  rid  of  it. 
This  was  proved  by  the  hamadryad,  who,  being 
exceedingly  fond  of  mischief,  threw  another 
handful  of  acorns  before  the  twenty-two  newly 
restored  people;  whereupon  down  they  wal 
lowed,  in  a  moment,  and  gobbled  them  up  in  a 
very  shameful  way,  Then,  recollecting  them 
selves,  they  scrambled  to  their  feet,  and  looked 
more  than  commonly  foolish. 

"  Thanks,  noble  Ulysses,"  they  cried. 
"From  brute  beasts  you  have  restored  us  to 
the  condition  of  men  again. ' ' 

44  Do  not  put  yourselves  to  the  trouble  of 
thanking  me,"  said  the  wise  king.  "I  fear  I 
have  done  but  little  for  you." 

To  say  the  truth,  there  \vas  a  suspicious  kind 


192  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

of  a  grunt  in  their  voices,  and  for  a  long  time 
afterwards  they  spoke  gruffly,  and  were  apt  to 
set  up  a  squeal. 

"It  must  depend  on  your  own  future  behav 
ior,"  added  Ulysses,  ''whether  you  do  not  find 
your  way  back  to  the  sty." 

At  this  moment  the  note  of  a  bird  sounded 
from  the  branch  of  a  neighboring  tree. 

"Peep,  peep,  pe — wee — ep!" 

It  was  the  purple  bird,  who,  all  this  while, 
had  been  sitting  over  their  heads,  watching 
what  was  going  forward,  and  hoping  that 
Ulysses  would  remember  how  he  had  done  his 
utmost  to  keep  him  and  his  followers  out  of 
harm's  way.  Ulysses  ordered  Circe  instantly 
to  make  a  king  of  this  good  little  fowl,  and 
leave  him  exactly  as  she  found  him.  Hardly 
were  the  words  spoken,  and  before  the  bird 
had  time  to  utter  another  "Pe — weep,"  King 
Picus  leaped  down  from  the  bough  of  the  tree, 
as  majestic  a  sovereign  as  any  in  the  world, 
dressed  in  a  long  purple  robe  and  gorgeous 
yellow  stockings,  with  a  splendidly  wrought 
collar  about  his  neck,  and  a  golden  crown  upon 
his  head.  He  and  King  Ulysses  exchanged 
with  one  another  the  courtesies  which  belonged 
to  their  elevated  rank.  But  from  that  time 
forth,  King  Picus  was  no  longer  proud  of  his 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  193 

crown  and  his  trappings  of  royalty,  nor  of  the 
fact  of  his  being  a  king ;  he  felt  himself  merely 
the  upper  servant  of  his  people,  and  that  it 
must  be  his  life- long  labor  to  make  them  bet 
ter  and  happier. 

As  for  the  lions,  tigers,  and  wolves  (though 
Circe  would  have  restored  them  to  their  former 
shapes  at  his  slightest  word),  Ulysses  thought 
it  advisable  that  they  should  remain  as  they 
now  were,  and  thus  give  warning  of  their  cruel 
dispositions,  instead  of  going  about  under  the 
guise  of  men,  and  pretending  to  human  sym 
pathies,  while  their  hearts  had  the  bloodthirst- 
iness  of  wild  beasts.  So  he  let  them  howl  as 
much  as  they  liked,  but  never  troubled  his 
head  about  them.  And  when  everything  was 
settled  according  to  his  pleasure,  he  sent  to 
summon  the  remainder  of  his  comrades,  whom 
he  had  left  at  the  sea-shore.  These  being 
arrived,  with  the  prudent  Eurylochus  at  their 
head,  they  all  made  themselves  comfortable  in 
Circe's  enchanted  palace,  until  quite  rested 
and  refreshed  from  the  toils  and  hardships  of 
their  voyage 


13   Tanglewood  Tales 


194  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 


THE  POMEGRANATE  SEEDS. 


Mother  Ceres  was  exceedingly  fond  of  her 
daughter  Proserpina,  and  seldom  let  her  go 
alone  into  the  fields.  But,  just  at  the  time 
when  my  story  begins,  the  good  lady  was  very 
busy,  because  she  had  the  care  of  the  wheat, 
and  the  Indian  corn,  and  the  rye  and  barley, 
and,  in  short,  of  the  crops  of  every  kind,  all 
over  the  earth ;  and  as  the  season  had  thus  far 
been  uncommonly  backward,  it  was  necessary 
to  make  the  harvest  ripen  more  speedily  than 
usual.  So  she  put  on  her  turban,  made  of 
poppies  (a  kind  of  flower  which  she  was  always 
noted  for  wearing),  and  got  into  her  car,  drawn 
by  a  pair  of  winged  dragons,  and  was  just 
ready  to  set  off. 

44 Dear  mother,'*  said  Proserpina,  "I  shall  be 
very  lonely  while  you  are  away.  May  I  not 
run  down  to  the  shore,  and  ask  some  of  the  sea- 
nymphs  to  come  up  out  of  the  waves  and  play 
with  me?" 

44  Yes,    child,"    answered     Mother    Ceres. 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  195 

"The  sea-nymphs  are  good  creatures,  and  will 
never  lead  you  into  any  harm.  But  you  must 
take  care  not  to  stray  away  from  them,  nor  go 
wandering  about  the  fields  by  yourself.  Young 
girls,  without  their  mothers  to  take  care  of 
them,  are  very  apt  to  get  into  mischief." 

The  child  promised  to  be  as  prudent  as  if 
she  were  a  grown-up  woman,  and,  by  the  time 
the  winged  dragons  had  whirled  the  car  out 
of  sight,  she  was  already  on  the  shore,  calling 
to  the  sea-nymphs  to  come  and  play  with  her. 
They  knew  Proserpina's  voice,  and  were  not 
long  in  showing  their  glistening  faces  and  sea- 
green  hair  above  the  water,  at  the  bottom  of 
which  was  their  home.  They  brought  along 
with  them  a  great  many  beautiful  shells;  and, 
sitting  down  on  the  moist  sand,  where  the  surf 
wave  broke  over  them,  they  busied  themselves 
in  making  a  necklace,  which  they  hung 
around  Proserpina's  neck.  By  way  of  show 
ing  her  gratitude,  the  child  besought  them  to 
go  with  her  a  little  way  into  the  fields,  so  that 
they  might  gather  abundance  of  flowers,  with 
which  she  would  make  each  of  her  kind  play 
mates  a  wreath. 

4  *  Oh  no,  dear  Proserpina/'  cried  the  sea- 
nymphs;  "we  dare  not  go  with  you  upon  the 
dry  land.  We  are  apt  to  grow  faint,  unless 


196  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

at  every  breath  we  can  snuff  up  the  salt  breeze 
of  the  ocean.  And  don't  you  see  how  careful 
we  are  to  let  the  surf  wave  break  over  us  every 
moment  or  two,  so  as  to  keep  ourselves  com 
fortably  moist?  If  it  were  not  for  that,  we 
should  soon  look  like  bunches  of  uprooted  sea 
weed  dried  in  the  sun. " 

4 'It  is  a  great  pity,"  said  Proserpina.  "But 
do  you  wait  for  me  here,  and  I  will  run  and 
gather  my  apron  full  of  flowers,  and  be  back 
again  before  the  surf  wave  has  broken  ten 
times  over  you.  I  long  to  make  you  some 
wreaths  that  shall  be  as  lovely  as  this  necklace 
of  many-colored  shells. ' ' 

44 We  will  wait,  then,"  answered  the  sea- 
nymphs.  4<But  while  you  are  gone,  we  may  as 
well  lie  down  on  a  bank  of  soft  sponge,  under 
the  water.  The  air  to-day  is  a  little  too  dry 
for  our  comfort.  But  we  will  pop  up  our  heads 
every  few  minutes  to  see  if  you  are  coming." 

The  young  Proserpina  ran  quickly  to  a  spot 
where,  only  the  day  before,  she  had  seen  a 
great  many  flowers.  These,  however,  were 
now  a  little  past  their  bloom ;  and  wishing  to 
give  her  friends  the  freshest  and  loveliest  blos 
soms,  she  strayed  farther  into  the  fields,  and 
found  some  that  made  her  scream  with  delight. 
Never  had  she  met  with  such  exquisite  flowers 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  197 

before, — violets,  so  large  and  fragrant, — roses 
with  so  rich  and  delicate  ablush, — such  superb 
hyacinths  and  such  aromatic  pinks, — and  many 
others,  some  of  which  seemed  to  be  of  new 
shapes  and  colors.  Two  or  three  times,  more 
over,  she  could  not  help  thinking  that  a  tuft  of 
most  splendid  flowers  had  suddenly  sprouted 
out  of  the  earth  before  her  very  eyes,  as  if  on 
purpose  to  tempt  her  a  few  steps  farther. 
Proserpina's  apron  was  soon  filled  and  brim 
ming  over  with  delightful  blossoms.  She  was 
on  the  point  of  turning  back  in  order  to  rejoin 
the  sea-nymphs,  and  sit  with  them  on  the 
moist  sands,  all  twining  wreaths  together. 
But,  a  little  farther  on,  what  should  she  be 
hold?  It  was  a  large  shrub?  completely  covered 
with  the  most  magnificent  flowers  in  the  world. 

44 The  darHngs!"  cried  Proserpina;  and  then 
she  thought  to  herself,  "I  was  looking  at  that 
spot  only  a  moment  ago.  How  strange  it  is 
that  I  did  not  see  the  flowers!'* 

The  nearer  she  approached  the  shrub,  the 
more  attractive  it  looked,  until  she  came  quite 
close  to  it;  and  then,  although  its  beauty  was 
richer  than  words  can  tell,  she  hardly  knew 
whether  to  like  it  or  not.  It  bore  above  a 
hundred  flowers  of  the  most  brilliant  hues,  and 
each  different  from  the  others,  but  all  having 


198  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

a  kind  of  resemblance  among  themselves, 
which  showed  them  to  be  sister  blossoms.  But 
there  was  a  deep,  glossy  lustre  on  the  leaves 
of  the  shrub,  and  on  the  petals  of  the  flowers, 
that  made  Proserpina  doubt  whether  they 
might  not  be  poisonous.  To  tell  you  the 
truth,  foolish  as  it  may  seem,  she  was  half  in 
clined  to  turn  round  and  run  away. 

"What  a  silly  child  I  am!"  thought  she, 
taking  courage.  "It  is  really  the  most  beauti 
ful  shrub  that  ever  sprang  out  of  the  earth.  I 
will  pull  it  up  by  the  roots,  and  carry  it  home, 
and  plant  it  in  my  mother's  garden. " 

Holding  up  her  apron  full  of  flowers  with 
her  left  hand,  Proserpina  seized  the  large  shrub 
with  the  other,  and  pulled  and  pulled,  but  was 
hardly  able  to  loosen  the  soil  about  its  roots. 
What  a  deep-rooted  plant  it  was!  Again  the 
girl  pulled  with  all  her  might,  and  observed 
that  the  earth  began  to  stir  and  crack  to  some 
distance  around  the  stem.  She  gave  another 
pull,  but  relaxed  her  hold,  fancying  that  there 
was  a  rumbling  sound  right  beneath  her  feet. 
Did  the  roots  extend  down  into  some  enchanted 
cavern?  Then,  laughing  at  herself  for  so 
childish  a  notion,  she  made  another  effort;  up 
came  the  shrub,  and  Proserpina  staggered 
back,  holding  the  stem  triumphantly  in  her 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  199 

hand,  and  gazing   at  the    deep  hole  which  its 
roots  had  left  in  the  soil. 

Much  to  her  astonishment,  this  hole  kept 
spreading  wider  and  wider,  and  growing  deeper 
and  deeper,  until  it  really  seemed  to  have  no 
bottom;  and  all  the  while,  there  came  a  rum 
bling  noise  out  of  its  depths,  louder  and 
louder,  and  nearer  and  nearer,  and  sounding 
like  the  tramp  of  horses'  hoofs,  and  the  rat 
tling  of  wheels.  Too  much  frightened  to  run 
away,  she  stood  straining  her  eyes  into  this 
wonderful  cavity,  and  soon  saw  a  team  of  four 
sable  horses,  snorting  smoke  out  of  their  nos 
trils,  and  tearing  their  way  out  of  the  earth 
with  a  splendid  golden  chariot  whirling  at 
their  heels.  They  leaped  out  of  the  bottom 
less  hole,  chariot  and  all ;  and  there  they  were, 
tossing  their  black  manes,  flourishing  their 
black  tails,  and  curvetting  with  every  one  of 
their  hoofs  off  the  ground  at  once,  close  by 
the  spot  where  Proserpina  stood  In  the  chariot 
sat  the  figure  of  a  man,  richly  dressed,  with  a 
crown  on  his  head,  all  flaming  with  diamonds. 
He  was  of  a  noble  aspect,  and  rather  hand 
some,  but  looked  sullen  and  discontented ;  and 
he  kept  rubbing  his  eyes  and  shading  them 
with  his  hand,  as  if  he  did  not  live  enough  in 
the  sunshine  to  be  very  fond  of  its  light. 


200  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

As  soon  as  this  personage  saw  the  affrighted 
Proserpina,  he  beckoned  her  to  come  a  little 
nearer. 

"Do  not  be  afraid, "  said  he,  with  as  cheerful 
a  smile  as  he  knew  how  to  put  on.  "Come! 
Will  not  you  like  to  ride  a  little  way  with  me, 
in  my  beautiful  chariot?" 

But  Proserpina  was  so  alarmed,  that  she 
wished  for  nothing  but  to  get  out  of  his  reach. 

And  no  wonder.  The  stranger  did  not  look 
remarkably  good  natured,  in  spite  of  his  smile; 
and  as  for  his  voice,  its  tones  were  deep  and 
stern,  and  sounded  as  much  like  the  rumbling 
of  an  earthquake  under  ground  as  anything 
else.  As  is  always  the  case  with  children  in 
trouble,  Proserpina's  first  thought  was  to  call 
for  her  mother. 

"Mother,  Mother  Ceres!"  cried  she,  all  in  a 
tremble.  "Come  quickly  and  save  me." 

But  her  voice  was  too  faint  for  her  mother 
to  hear.  Indeed,  it  is  most  probable  that 
Ceres  was  then  a  thousand  miles  off,  making 
the  corn  grow  in  some  far-distant  country. 
Nor  could  it  have  availed  her  poor  daughter, 
even  had  she  been  within  hearing;  for  no 
sooner  did  Proserpkia  begin  to  cry  out,  than 
the  stranger  leaped  to  the  ground,  caught  the 
child  in  his  arms,  and  again  mounting  the 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  201 

chariot,  took  the  reins,  and  shouted  to  the  four 
black  horses  to  set  off.  They  immediately 
broke  into  so  swift  a  gallop  that  it  seemed 
rather  like  flying  through  the  air  than  running 
along  the  earth.  In  a  moment,  Proserpina 
lost  sight  of  the  pleasant  vale  of  Enna,  in 
which  she  had  always  dwelt.  Another  instant, 
and  even  the  summit  of  Mount  ^Etna  had 
become  so  blue  in  the  distance,  that  she  could 
scarcely  distinguish  it  from  the  smoke  that 
gushed  out  of  its  crater.  But  still  the  poor 
child  screamed,  and  scattered  her  apron  full  of 
flowers  along  the  way,  and  left  a  long  cry 
trailing  behind  the  chariot;  and  many  mothers, 
to  whose  ears  it  came,  ran  quickly  to  see  if  any 
mischief  had  befallen  their  children..  But 
Mother  Ceres  was  a  great  way  off,  and  could 
not  hear  the  cry. 

As  they  rode  on,  the  stranger  did  his  best  to 
soothe  her. 

"Why  should  you  be  so  frightened,  my 
pretty  child?"  said  he,  trying  to  soften  his 
rough  voice.  "I  promise  not  to  do  you  any 
harm.  What!  You  have  been  gathering 
flowers?  Wait  till  we  come  to  my  palace,  and 
I  will  give  you  a  garden  full  of  prettier  flowers 
than  those,  all  made  of  pearls,  and  diamonds, 
and  rubies.  Can  you  guess  who  I  am?  They 


202  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

call  my  name  Pluto,  and  I  am  the  king  of  dia 
monds  and  all  other  precious  stones.  Every 
atom  of  the  gold  and  silver  that  lies  under  the 
earth  belongs  to  me,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
copper  and  iron,  and  of  the  coal-mines,  which 
supply  me  with  abundance  of  fuel.  Do  you 
see  this  splendid  crown  upon  my  head?  You 
may  have  it  for  a  plaything.  Oh,  we  shall  be 
very  good  friends,  and  you  will  find  me  more 
agreeable  than  you  expect,  when  once  we  get 
out  of  this  troublesome  sunshine." 

4 'Let  me  go  home!"  cried  Proserpina, — "let 
me  go  home!" 

44 My  home  is  better  than  your  mother's," 
answered  King  Pluto.  "It  is  a  palace,  all 
made  of  gold,  with  crystal  windows;  and  be 
cause  there  is  little  or  no  sunshine  thereabout, 
the  apartments  are  illuminated  with  diamond 
lamps.  You  never  saw  anything  half  so  mag 
nificent  as  my  throne.  If  you  like,  you  may 
sit  down  on  it,  and  be  my  little  queen,  and  I 
will  sit  on  the  footstool." 

"I  don't  care  for  golden  palaces  and 
thrones,"  sobbed  Proserpina.  "Oh,  my 
mother,  my  mother!  Carry  me  back  to  my 
mother!" 

But  King  Pluto,  as  he  called  himself,  only 
shouted  to  his  steeds  to  go  faster. 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  203 

"Pray  do  not  be  so  foolish,  Proserpina,"  said 
he,  in  rather  a  sullen  tone,  "I  offer  you  my 
palace  and  my  crown,  and  all  the  riches  that 
are  under  the  earth;  and  you  treat  me  as  if  I 
were  doing  you  an  injury.  The  one  thing 
which  my  palace  needs  is  a  merry  little  maid, 
to  run  up  stairs  and  down,  and  cheer  up  the 
rooms  with  her  smile.  And  this  is  what  you 
must  do  for  King  Pluto. ' ' 

44 Never!"  answered  Proserpina,  looking  as 
miserable  as  she  could.  * '  I  shall  never  smile 
again  till  you  set  me  down  at  my  mother's 
door. ' ' 

But  she  might  just  as  well  have  talked  to 
the  wind  that  whistled  past  them;  for  Pluto 
urged  on  his  horses,  and  went  faster  than  ever. 
Proserpina  continued  to  cry  out,  and  screamed 
so  long  and  so  loudly,  that  her  poor  little  voice 
was  almost  screamed  away;  and  when  it  was 
nothing  but  a  whisper,  she  happened  to  cast 
her  eyes  over  a  great,  broad  field  of  waving 
grain — and  whom  do  you  think  she  saw? 
Who,  but  Mother  Ceres,  making  the  corn 
grow,  and  too  busy  to  notice  the  golden  chariot 
as  it  went  rattling  along.  The  child  mustered 
all  her  strength,  and  gave  one  more  scream, 
but  was  out  of  sight  before  Ceres  had  time  to 
turn  her  head. 


204  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

King  Pluto  had  taken  a  road  which  now  be 
gan  to  grow  excessively  gloomy.  It  was  bor 
dered  on  each  side  with  rocks  and  precipices, 
between  which  the  rumbling-  of  the  chariot- 
wheels  was  reverberated  with  a  noise  like  roll 
ing  thunder.  The  trees  and  bushes  that  grew 
in  the  crevices  of  the  rocks  had  very  dismal 
foliage;  and  by  and  by,  although  it  was  hardly 
noon,  the  air  became  obscured  with  a  gray 
twilight.  The  black  horses  had  rushed  along 
so  swiftly  that  they  were  already  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  sunshine.  But  the  duskier  it 
grew,  the  more  did  Pluto's  visage  assume  an 
air  of  satisfaction.  After  all,  he  was  not  an 
ill-looking  person,  especially  when  he  left  off 
twisting  his  features  into  a  smile  that  did  not 
belong  to  them.  Proserpina  peeped  at  his 
face  through  the  gathering  dusk,  and  hoped 
that  he  might  not  be  so  very  wicked  as  she 
at  first  thought  him. 

**Ah,  this  twilight  is  truly  refreshing, "  said 
King  Pluto,  *' after  being  so  tormented  with 
that  ugly  and  impertinent  glare  of  the  sun. 
How  much  more  agreeable  is  lamplight  or 
torchlight,  more  particularly  when  reflected 
from  diamonds!  It  will  be  a  magnificent  sight 
when  we  get  to  my  palace." 

44  Is  it   much    farther?"    asked    Proserpina. 


FANGLEWOOD  TALES.  205 

*'And  will  you  carry  me  back  when  I  have 
seen  it?" 

"We  will  talk  of  that  by  and  by,"  answered 
Pluto. 

44  We  are  just  entering  my  dominions.  Do 
you  see  that  tall  gateway  before  us?  When 
we  pass  those-  gates,  we  are  at  home.  And 
there  lies  my  faithful  mastiff  at  the  threshold. 
Cerberus !  Cerberus !  Come  hither,  my  good 
dog!" 

So  saying,  Pluto  pulled  at  the  reins,  and 
stopped  the  chariot  right  between  the  tall,  mas 
sive  pillars  of  the  gateway.  The  mastiff  of 
which  he  had  spoken  got  up  from  the  thresh 
old,  and  stood  on  his  hinder  legs,  so  as  to  put 
his  fore  paws  on  the  chariot- wheel.  But,  my 
stars,  what  a  strange  dog  it  was !  Why,  he 
was  a  big,  rough,  ugly-looking  monster,  with 
three  separate  heads,  and  each  of  them  fiercer 
than  the  two  others ;  but,  fierce  as  they  were, 
King  Pluto  patted  them  all.  He  seemed  as 
fond  of  his  three-headed  dog  as  if  it  had  been 
a  sweet  little  spaniel,  with  silken  ears  and 
curly  hair.  Cerberus,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
evidently  rejoiced  to  see  his  master,  and  ex 
pressed  his  attachment,  as  other  dogs  do,  by 
wagging  his  tail  at  a  great  rate.  Proserpina's 
eyes  being  drawn  to  it  by  its  brisk  motion, 


206  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

she  saw  that  this  tail  was  neither  more  nor 
less  than  a  live  dragon,  with  fiery  eyes,  and 
fangs  that  had  a  very  poisonous  aspect.  And 
while  the  three-headed  Cerberus  was  fawning 
so  lovingly  on  King  Pluto,  there  was  the 
dragon  tail  wagging  against  its  will,  and  look 
ing  as  cross  and  ill-natured  as  you  can  imagine, 
on  its  own  separate  account. 

"Will  the  dog  bite  me?"  asked  Proserpina, 
shrinking  closer  to  Pluto.  "What  an  ugly 
creature  he  is!" 

*  Oh,  never  fear,"  answered  her  companion. 
44  He  never  harms  people,  unless  they  try  to 
enter  my  dominions  without  being  sent  for,  or 
to  get  away  when  I  wish  to  keep  them  here. 
Down,  Cerberus!  Now,  my  pretty  Proser 
pina,  we  will  drive  on." 

On  went  the  chariot,  and  King  Pluto  seemed 
greatly  pleased  to  find  himself  once  more  in 
his  own  kingdom.  He  drew  Proserpina's 
attention  to  the  rich  veins  of  gold  that  were  to 
be  seen  among  the  rocks,  and  pointed  to  sev 
eral  places  where  one  stroke  of  a  pick-axe 
would  loosen  a  bushel  of  diamonds.  All  along 
the  road,  indeed,  there  were  sparkling  gems, 
which  would  have  been  of  inestimable  value 
above  ground,  but  which  were  here  reckoned 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  207 

r>f  the  meaner  sort,  and  hardly  worth  a  beg 
gar's  stooping  for. 

Not  far  from  the  gateway  they  came  to  a 
bridge,  which  seemed  to  be  built  of  iron. 
Pluto  stopped  the  chariot,  and  bade  Proser 
pina  look  at  the  stream  which  was  gliding  so 
lazily  beneath  it.  Never  in  her  life  had  she  be 
held  so  torpid,  so  black,  so  muddy-looking  a 
stream;  its  waters  reflected  no  images  of  any 
thing  that  was  on  the  banks,  and  it  moved  as 
sluggishly  as  if  it  had  quite  forgotten  which 
way  it  ought  to  flow,  and  had  rather  stagnate 
than  flow  either  one  way  or  the  other. 

44  This  is  the  river  Lethe, "  observed  King 
Pluto,  "Is  it  not  a  very  pleasant  stream?" 

' 4 1  think  it  a  very  dismal  one, ' '  said  Pros 
erpina. 

44 It  suits  my  taste,  however,"  answered 
Pluto,  who  was  apt  to  be  sullen  when  anybody 
disagreed  with  him.  "At  all  events,  its  water 
has  one  very  excellent  quality;  for  a  single 
draught  of  it  makes  people  forget  every  care 
and  sorrow  that  has  hitherto  tormented  them. 
Only  sip  a  little  of  it,  my  dear  Proserpina, 
and  you  will  instantly  cease  to  grieve  for  your 
mother,  and  will  have  nothing  in  your  mem 
ory  that  can  prevent  your  being  perfectly 


208  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

happy  in  my  palace.  I  will  send  for  some,  in 
a  golden  goblet,  the  moment  we  arrive." 

44 Oh,  no,  no,  no!"  cried  Proserpina,  weep 
ing  afresh.  44I  had  a  thousand  times  rather  be 
miserable  with  remembering  my  mother,  than 
be  happy  in  forgetting  her.  That  dear,  dear 
mother!  I  never,  never  will  forget  her." 

44 We  shall  see,"  said  King  Pluto.  44You  do 
not  know  what  fine  times  we  will  have  in  my 
palace.  Here  we  are  just  at  the  portal.  These 
pillars  are  solid  gold,  I  assure  you." 

He  alighted  from  the  chariot,  and  taking 
Proserpina  in  his  arms,  carried  her  up  a  lofty 
flight  of  steps  into  the  great  hall  of  the  palace. 
It  was  splendidly  illuminated  by  means  of  large 
precious  stones  of  various  hues,  which  seemed 
to  burn  like  so  many  lamps,,  and  glowed  with  a 
hundred-fold  radiance  all  through  the  vast 
apartment.  And  yet  there  was  a  kind 
of  gloom  in  the  midst  of  this  enchanted 
light;  nor  was  there  a  single  object  in 
the  hall  that  was  really  agreeable  to  be 
hold,  except  the  little  Proserpina  herself,  a 
lovely  child,  with  one  earthly  flower  which  she 
had  not  let  fall  from  her  hand.  It  is  my  opin 
ion  that  even  King  Pluto  had  never  been  happy 
in  his  palace,  and  that  this  was  the  true  reason 
why  he  had  stolen  away  Proserpina,  in  order 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  209 

that  he  might  have  something  to  love,  instead 
of  cheating  his  heart  any  longer  with  this  tire 
some  magnificence.  And,  though  he  pretended 
to  dislike  the  sunshine  of  the  upper  world,  yet 
the  effect  of  the  child's  presence,  bedimmed  as 
she  was  by  her  tears,  was  as  if  a  faint  and 
watery  sunbeam  had  somehow  or  other  found 
its  way  into  the  enchanted  hall. 

Pluto  now  summoned  his  domestics,  and  bade 
them  lose  no  time  in  preparing  a  most  sumptu 
ous  banquet,  and,  above  all  things,  not  to  fail 
of  setting  a  golden  beaker  of  the  water  of  Lethe 
by  Proserpina's  plate. 

* '  I  will  neither  drink  that  nor  anything  else, ' ' 
said  Proserpina.  "Nor  will  I  taste  a  morsel  of 
food,  even  if  you  keep  me  forever  in  your  pal 
ace.  " 

"I  should  be  sorry  for  that,"  replied  King 
Pluto,  patting  her  cheek ;  for  he  really  wished 
to  be  kind,  if  he  had  only  known  how.  "You 
are  a  spoiled  child,  I  perceive,  my  little  Pros 
erpina  ;  but  when  you  see  the  nice  things  which 
my  cook  will  make  for  you,  your  appetite  will 
quickly  come  again." 

Then,  sending  for  the  head  cook,  he  gave 
strict  orders  that  all  sorts  of  delicacies,  such  as 
young  people  are  usually  fond  of,  should  be  set 
before  Proserpina.  He  had  a  secret  motive  in 

14    Tanglewood  Tales 


210  f  ANGLE-WOOD  TALES. 

this;  for,  you  are  to  understand,  it  is  a  fixed 
law,  that,  when  persons  are  carried  off  to  the 
land  of  magic,  if  they  once  taste  any  food  there, 
they  can  never  get  back  to  their  friends.  Now, 
if  King  Pluto  had  been  cunning  enough  to  offer 
Proserpina  some  fruit,  or  bread  and  milk 
(which  was  the  simple  fare  to  which  the  child 
had  always  been  accustomed),  it  is  very  prob 
able  that  she  would  soon  have  been  tempted  to 
eat  it.  But  he  left  the  matter  entirely  to  his 
cook,  who,  like  all  other  cooks,  considered 
nothing  fit  to  eat  unless  it  were  rich  pastry,  or 
highly  seasoned  meat,  or  spiced  sweet  cakes, 
— things  which  Proserpina's  mother  had  never 
given  her,  and  the  smell  of  which  quite  took 
away  her  appetite  instead  of  sharpening  it. 

But  my  story  must  now  clamber  out  of  King 
Pluto's  dominions,  and  see  what  Mother  Ceres 
has  been  about,  since  she  was  bereft  of  her 
daughter.  We  had  a  glimpse  of  her,  as  you 
remember,  half  hidden  among  the  waving 
grain,  while  the  four  black  steeds  were  swiftly 
whirling  along  the  chariot  in  which  her  beloved 
Proserpina  was  so  unwillingly  borne  away.  You 
recollect,  too,  the  loud  scream  which  Proser 
pina  gave,  just  when  the  chariot  was  out  of 
sight. 

Of  all  the  child's  outcries,  this  last  shriek 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  211 

was  the  only  one  that  reached  the  ears  of 
Mother  Ceres.  She  had  mistaken  the  rumbling 
of  the  chariot  wheels  for  a  peal  of  thunder,  and 
imagined  that  a  shower  was  coming  up,  and 
that  it  would  assist  her  in  making  the  corn 
grow.  But,  at  the  sound  of  Proserpina's  shriek, 
she  started,  and  looked  about  in  every  direction, 
not  knowing  whence  it  came,  but  feeling  almost 
certain  that  it  was  her  daughter's  voice.  It 
seemed  so  unaccountable,  however,  that  the 
girl  should  have  strayed  over  so  many  lands 
and  seas  (which  she  herself  could  not  have  trav 
ersed  without  the  aid  of  her  winged  dragons), 
that  the  good  Ceres  tried  to  believe  that  it 
must  be  the  child  of  some  other  parent,  and 
not  her  own  darling  Proserpina,  who  had 
uttered  this  lamentable  cry.  Nevertheless,  it 
troubled  her  with  a  vast  many  tender  fears, 
such  as  are  ready  to  bestir  themselves  in  every 
mother's  heart,  when  she  finds  it  necessary  to 
go  away  from  her  dear  children  without  leav 
ing  them  under  the  care  of  some  maiden  aunt 
or  other  such  faithful  guardian.  So  she  quickly 
left  the  field  in  which  she  had  been  so  busy ; 
and,  as  her  work  was  not  half  done,  the  grain 
looked,  next  day  as  if  it  needed  both  sun  and 
rain,  and  as  if  it  were  blighted  in  the  ear,  and 
had  something  the  matter  with  its  roots. 


212  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

The  pair  of  dragons  must  have  had  very 
nimble  wings;  for  in  less  than  an  hour  Mother 
Ceres  had  alighted  at  the  door  of  her  home  and 
found  it  empty.  Knowing,  however,  that  the 
child  was  fond  of  sporting  on  the  sea-shore,  she 
hastened  thither  as  fast  as  she  could,  and  there 
beheld  the  wet  faces  of  the  poor  sea-nymphs 
peeping  over  a  wave.  All  this  while  the  good 
creatures  had  been  waiting  on  the  bank  of 
sponge,  and,  once  every  half- minute  or  so,  had 
popped  up  their  four  heads  above  water,  to  see 
if  their  playmate  were  yet  coming  back.  When 
the  saw  Mother  Ceres,  they  sat  down  on  the 
crest  of  the  surf  wave  and  let  it  toss  them 
ashore  at  her  feet 

"  Where  is  Proserpina?"  cried  Ceres. 
44 Where  is  my  child?  Tell  me,  you  naughty 
sea-nymphs,  have  you  enticed  her  under  the 
sea?" 

44 Oh,  no,  good  Mother  Ceres, "  said  the  inno 
cent  sea-nymphs,  tossing  back  their  green  ring 
lets,  and  looking  her  in  the  face.  "We  never 
should  dream  of  such  a  thing.  Proserpina  has 
been  at  play  with  us,  it  is  true ;  but  she  left  us 
a  long  while  ago,  meaning  only  to  run  a  little 
way  upon  the  dry  land,  and  gather  some  flowers 
.for  a  wreath.  This  was  early  in  the  day,  and 
we  have  seen  nothing  of  her  since. " 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  213 

Ceres  scarcely  waited  to  hear  what  the 
nymphs  had  to  say,  before  she  hurried  off  to 
make  inquiries  all  through  the  neighborhood. 
But  nobody  told  her  anything  that  could  enable 
the  poor  mother  to  guess  what  had  become  of 
Proserpina.  A  fisherman,  it  is  true,  had  noticed 
her  little  footprints  in  the  sand,  as  he  went 
homeward  along  the  beach  with  a  basket  of 
fish ;  a  rustic  had  seen  the  child  stooping  to 
gather  flowers;  several  persons  had  heard 
either  the  rattling  of  chariot-wheels,  or  the 
rumbling  of  distant  thunder;  and  one  old 
woman,  while  plucking  vervain  and  catnip,  had 
heard  a  scream,  but  supposed  it  to  be  some 
childish  nonsense,  and  therefore  did  not  take 
the  trouble  to  look  up.  The  stupid  people ! 
It  took  them  such  a  tedious  while  to  tell  the 
nothing  that  they  knew,  that  it  was  dark  night 
before  Mother  Ceres  found  out  that  she  must 
seek  her  daughter  elsewhere.  So  she  lighted  a 
torch,  and  set  forth,  resolving  never  to  come 
back  until  Proserpina  was  discovered. 

In  her  haste  and  trouble  of  mind,  she  quite 
forgot  her  car  and  the  winged  dragons ;  or,  it 
may  be  she  thought  that  she  could  follow  up 
the  search  more  thoroughly  on  foot.  At  all 
events,  this  was  the  way  in  which  she  began 
her  sorrowful  journey,  holding  her  torch  before 


214  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

her,  and  looking  carefully  at  every  object  along 
the  path.  And,  as  it  happened,  she  had  not 
gone  far  before  she  found  one  of  the  magnifi 
cent  flowers  which  grew  on  the  shrub  that 
Proserpina  had  pulled  up. 

"Ha!"  thought  Mother  Ceres,  examining  it 
by  torchlight.  "Here  is  mischief  in  this 
flower!  The  earth  did  not  produce  it  by  any 
help  of  mine,  nor  of  its  own  accord  It  is  the 
work  of  enchantment,  and  is  therefore  poison 
ous;  and  perhaps  it  has  poisoned  my  poor 
child." 

But  she  put  the  poisonous  flower  in  her  bos 
om,  not  knowing  whether  she  might  ever  find 
any  other  memorial  of  Proserpina. 

All  night  long,  at  the  door  of  every  cottage 
and  farm-house,  Ceres  knocked,  and  called  up 
the  weary  laborers  to  inquire  if  they  had  seen 
her  child;  and  they  stood,  gaping  and  half 
asleep  at  the  threshold,  and  answered  her  pity 
ingly,  and  besought  her  to  come  in  and  rest. 

At  the  portal  of  every  palace,  too,  she  made 
so  loud  a  summons  that  the  menials  hurried  to 
throw  open  the  gate,  thinking  that  it  must  be 
some  great  king  or  queen,  who  would 
demand  a  banquet  for  supper  and  a 
stately  chamber  to  repose  in.  And  when 
they  saw  only  a  sad  and  anxious  woman, 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  215 

with  a  torch  in  her  hand  and  a  wreath 
of  withered  poppies  on  her  head,  they  spoke 
rudely,  and  sometimes  threatened  to  set  the 
dogs  upon  her.  But  nobody  had  seen  Proser 
pina,  nor  could  give  Mother  Ceres  the  least 
hint  which  way  to  seek  her.  Thus  passed  the 
night ;  and  still  she  continued  her  search  with 
out  sitting  down  to  rest,  or  stopping  to  take 
food,  or  even  remembering  to  put  out  the 
torch;  although  first  the  rosy  dawn,  and  then 
the  glad  light  of  the  morning  sun,  made  its 
red  flame  look  thin  and  pale.  But  I  wonder 
what  sort  of  stuff  this  torch  was  made  of ;  for  it 
burned  dimly  through  the  day,  and,  at  night, 
was  as  bright  as  ever,  and  never  was  extin 
guished  by  the  rain  or  wind,  in  all  the  weary 
days  and  nights  while  Ceres  was  seeking  Pros 
erpina. 

It  was  not  merely  of  human  beings  that  she 
asked  tidings  of  her  daughter.  In  the  woods 
and  by  the  streams,  she  met  creatures  of 
another  nature,  who  used,  in  those  old  times, 
to  haunt  the  pleasant  and  solitary  places,  and 
were  very  sociable  with  persons  who  under 
stood  their  language  and  customs,  as  Mother 
Ceres  did.  Sometimes,  for  instance,  she  tapped' 
with  her  finger  against  the  knotted  trunk  df  a 
majestic  oak;  and  immediately  its  rude  bark 


216  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

would  cleave  asunder,  and  forth  would  step  a 
beautiful  maiden,  who  was  the  hamadryad  of 
the  oak,  dwelling  inside  of  it,  and  sharing  its 
long  life,  and  rejoicing  when  its  green  leaves 
sported  with  the  breeze.  But  not  one  of  these 
leafy  damsels  had  seen  Proserpina.  Then, 
going  a  little  farther,  Ceres  would,  perhaps, 
come  to  a  fountain,  gushing  out  of  a  pebbly 
hollow  in  the  earth,  and  would  dabble  with  her 
hand  in  the  water.  Behold,  up  through  its 
sandy  pebbly  bed,  along  with  the  fountain's 
£ush,  a  young  woman  with  dripping  hair  would 
arise,  and  stand  gazing  at  Mother  Ceres,  half 
O'Jt  of  the  water,  and  undulating  up  and  down 
with  its  ever-restless  motion.  But  when  the 
mother  asked  whether  her  poor  lost  child  had 
stopped  to  drink  out  of  the  fountain,  the  naiad, 
with  weeping  eyes  (for  these  water-nymphs 
had  tears  to  spare  for  everybody's  grief), 
would  answer,  "No!"  in  a  murmuring  voice, 
which  was  just  like  the  murmur  of  the  stream. 
Often,  likewise,  she  encountered  fauns,  who 
looked  like  sunburnt  country  people,  except 
that  they  had  hairy  ears,  and  little  horns  upon 
their  foreheads,  and  the  hinder  legs  of  goats, 
on  which  they  gambolled  merrily  about  the 
woods  and  fields.  They  were  a  frolicsome 
ind  of  creature,  but  grew  as  sad  as  their 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  217 

cheerful  dispositions  would  allow  when  Ceres 
inquired  for  her  daughter,  and  they  had  no 
good  news  to  tell.  But  sometimes  she  came 
suddenly  upon  a  rude  gang  of  satyrs,  who  had 
faces  like  monkeys  and  horses'  tails  behind 
them,  and  who  were  generally  dancing  in  a 
very  boisterous  manner,  with  shouts  of  noisy 
laughter.  When  she  stopped  to  question  them, 
they  would  only  laugh  the  louder,  and  make 
new  merriment  out  of  the  lone  woman's  dis 
tress.  How  unkind  of  those  ugly  satyrs !  And 
once,  while  crossing  a  solitary  sheep-pasture, 
she  saw  a  personage  named  Pan,  seated  at  the 
foot  of  a  tall  rock,  and  making  music  on  a 
shepherd's  flute.  He,  too,  had  horns,  and 
hairy  ears,  and  goat's  feet;  but,  being  ac 
quainted  with  Mother  Ceres,  he  answered  her 
question  as  civilly  as  he  knew  how,  and  invited 
her  to  taste  some  milk  and  honey  out  of  a 
wooden  bowl.  But  neither  could  Pan  tell  her 
what  had  become  of  Proserpina,  any  better 
than  the  rest  of  these  wild  people. 

And  thus  Mother  Ceres  went  wandering 
about  for  nine  long  days  and  nights,  finding  no 
trace  of  Proserpina,  unless  it  were  now  and 
then  a  withered  flower;  and  these  she  picked 
up  and  put-  in  her  bosom,  because  she  fancied 
that  they  might  have  fallen  from  her  poor 


218  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

child's  hand.  All  day  she  travelled  onward 
through  the  hot  sun ;  and  at  night,  again,  the 
flame  of  the  torch  would  redden  and  gleam 
along  the  pathway,  and  she  continued  her 
search  by  its  light,  without  ever  sitting  down 
to  rest. 

On  the  tenth  day  she  chanced  to  espy  the 
mouth  of  a  cavern,  within  which  (though  it 
was  bright  noon  everywhere  else)  there  would 
have  been  only  a  dusky  twilight  but  it  GO  hap 
pened  that  a  torch  was  burning  there.  It  flick 
ered,  and  struggled  with  the  duskiness,  but 
could  not  half  light  up  the  gloomy  cavern  with 
all  its  melancholy  glimmer.  Ceres  was  re 
solved  to  leave  no  spot  without  a  search,  so  she 
peeped  into  the  entrance  of  the  cave,  and  lighted 
it  up  a  little  more,  by  holding  her  own  torch 
before  her.  In  so  doing  she  caught  a  glimpse 
of  what  seemed  to  be  a  woman,  sitting  on  the 
brown  leaves  of  the  last  autumn,  a  great  heap 
of  which  had  been  swept  into  the  cave  by  the 
wind.  This  woman  (if  woman  it  were)  was  by 
no  means  so  beautiful  as  many  of  her  sex,  for 
her  head,  they  tell  me,  was  shaped  very  much 
like  a  dog's;  and,  by  way  of  ornament,  she 
wore  a  wreath  of  snakes  arotmd  it.  But 
Mother  Ceres,  the  moment  she  saw  her,  knew 
that  this  was  an  odd  kind  of  a  person,  who  put 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  219 

all  her  enjoyment  in  being  miserable,  and  never 
would  have  a  word  to  say  to  other  people,  un 
less  they  were  as  melancholy  and  wretched  as 
she  herself  delighted  to  be. 

"I  am  wretched  enough  now,"  thought  poor 
Ceres,  "to  talk  with  this  melancholy  Hecate, 
were  she  ten  times  sadder  than  ever  she  was 
yet." 

So  she  stepped  into  the  cave,  and  sat  down 
on  the  withered  leaves,  by  the  dog-headed 
woman's  side.  In  all  the  world,  since  her 
daughter's  loss,  she  had  found  no  other  com 
panion. 

4<O  Hecate,"  said  she,  "if  ever  you  lose  a 
daughter  you  will  know  what  sorrow  is.  Tell 
me,  for  pity's  sake,  have  you  seen  my  poor 
child  Proserpina  pass  by  the  mouth  of  your 
cavern?" 

44  No, "  answered  Hecate,  in  a  cracked  voice, 
and  sighing  betwixt  every  word  or  two;  "no, 
Mother  Ceres,  I  have  seen  nothing  of  your 
daughter.  But  my  ears,  you  must  know,  are 
made  in  such  a  way  that  all  cries  of  distress 
and  affright,  all  over  the  world,  are  pretty  sure 
to  find  their  way  to  them ;  and  nine  days  ago, 
as  I  sat  in  my  cave,  making  myself  very  mis 
erable,  I  heard  the  voice  of  a  young  girl,  shriek 
ing  as  if  in  great  distress.  Something  terrible 


220  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

has  happened  to  the  child,  you  may  rest  assured. 
As  well  as  I  could  judge,  a  dragon,  or  some 
other  cruel  monster,  was  carrying  her  away. ' ' 

4 'You  kill  me  by  saying  so,"  cried  Ceres, 
almost  ready  to  faint.  "  Where  was  the  sound, 
and  which  way  did  it  seem  to  go?" 

44 It  passed  very  swiftly  along,"  said  Hecate, 
44  and  at  the  same  time  there  was  a  heavy 
rumbling  of  wheels  toward  the  eastward.  I 
can  tell  you  nothing  more,  except  that,  in  my 
honest  opinion,  you  will  never  see  your  daugh 
ter  again.  The  best  advice  I  can  give  you  is, 
to  take  up  your  abode  in  this  cavern,  where 
we  will  be  the  two  most  wretched  women  in 
the  world." 

44 Not  yet,  dark  Hecate,"  replied  Ceres. 
44  But  do  you  first  come  with  your  torch,  and 
help  me  to  seek  for  my  lost  child.  And  when 
there  shall  be  no  more  hope  of  finding  her  (if 
that  black  day  is  ordained  to  come),  then,  if 
you  will  give  me  room  to  fling  myself  down, 
either  on  these  withered  leaves  or  on  the  naked 
rock,  I  will  show  you  what  it  is  to  be  miser 
able.  But,  until  I  know  that  she  has  perished 
from  the  face  of  the  earth,  I  will  not  allow 
myself  space  even  to  grieve. ' ' 

The  dismal  Hecate  did  not  much  like  the 
idea  of  going  abroad  into  the  sunny  world. 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  221 

But  then  she  reflected  that  the  sorrow  of  the 
disconsolate  Ceres  would  be  like  a  gloomy  twi 
light  round  about  them  both,  let  the  sun  shine 
ever  so  brightly,  and  that  therefore  she  might 
enjoy  her  bad  spirits  quite  as  well  as  if  she  were 
to  stay  in  the  cave.  So  she  finally  consented  to 
go,  and  they  set  out  together,  both  carrying 
torches,  although  it  was  broad  daylight  and 
clear  sunshine.  The  torchlight  seemed  to 
make  a  gloom ;  so  that  the  people  whom  they 
met  along  the  road  could  not  very  distinctly 
see  their  figures;  and,  indeed,  if  they  once 
caught  a  glimpse  of  Hecate,  with  the  wreath 
of  snakes  round  her  forehead,  they  generally 
thought  it  prudent  to  run  away,  without  wait 
ing  for  a  second  glance. 

As  the  pair  traveled  along  in  this  woe-be- 
gone  manner,  a  thought  struck  Ceres. 

14 There  is  one  person,"  she  exclaimed,  "who 
must  have  seen  my  poor  child,  and  can  doubt 
less  tell  what  has  become  of  her.  Why  did 
not  I  think  of  him  before?  It  is  Phcebiis. " 

44 What,"  said  Hecate,  t4the  young  man  that 
always  sits  in  the  sunshine?  Oh,  pray  do  not 
think  of  going  near  him.  He  is  a  gay,  light, 
frivolous  young  fellow,  and  will  only  smile  in 
your  face.  And,  besides,  there  is  such  a  glare 
of  the  sun  about  him,  that  he  will  quite  blind 


222  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

my  poor  eyes,  which  I  ahave  almost  wept 
away  already. ' ' 

44 You  have  promised  to  be  my  companion," 
answered  Ceres.  "Come,  let  us  make  haste, 
or  the  sunshine  will  be  gone,  and  Phoebus 
along  with  it. ' ' 

Accordingly,  they  went  along  in  quest  of 
Phoebus,  both  of  them  sighing  grievously,  and 
Hecate,  to  say  the  truth,  making  a  great  deal 
worse  lamentation  than  Ceres;  for  all  the 
pleasure  she  had,  you  know,  lay  in  being  mis 
erable,  and  therefore  she  made  the  most  of  it. 

By  and  by,  after  a  pretty  long  journey,  they 
arrived  at  the  sunniest  spot  in  the  whole 
world.  There  they  beheld  a  beautiful  young 
man,  with  long,  curling  ringlets,  which 
seemed  to  be  made  of  golden  sunbeams;  his 
garments  were  like  light  summer  clouds;  and 
the  expression  of  his  face  was  so  exceedingly 
vivid,  that  Hecate  held  her  hands  before  her 
eyes,  muttering  that  he  ought  to  wear  a  black 
veil.  Phoebus  (for  this  was  the  very  person 
whom  they  were  seeking)  had  a  lyre  in  his 
hands,  and  was  making  its  chords  tremble  with 
sweet  music;  at  the  same  time  singing  a  most 
exquisite  song,  which  he  had  recently  com 
posed.  For,  besides  a  great  many  other  accom- 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  223 

plishments,  this  young  man  was  renowned  for 
his  admirable  poetry. 

As  Ceres  and  her  dismal  companion 
approached  him,  Phoebus  smiled  on  them  so 
cheerfully  that  Hecate's  wreath  of  snakes  gave 
a  spiteful  hiss,  and  Hecate  heartily  wished 
herself  back  in  her  cave.  But  as  for  Ceres, 
she  was  too  earnest  in  her  grief  either  to  know 
or  care  whether  Phoebus  smiled  or  frowned. 

"Phoebus!"  exclaimed  she,  "I  am  in  great 
trouble,  and  have  come  to  you  for  assistance. 
Can  you  tell  me  what  has  become  of  my  dear 
child  Proserpina?" 

"Proserpina!  Proserpina,  did  you  call  her 
name?"  answered  Phoebus,  endeavoring  to 
recollect;  for  there  was  such  a  continual  flow 
of  pleasant  ideas  in  his  mind  that  he  was  apt 
to  forget  what  had  happened  no  longer  ago  than 
yesterday.  "Ah,  yes,  I  remember  her  now. 
A  very  lovely  child,  indeed.  I  am  happy  to 
tell  you,  ray  dear  madam,  that  I  did  see  the 
little  Proserpina  not  many  days  ago.  You 
may  make  yourself  perfectly  easy  about  her. 
She  is  safe,  and  in  excellent  hands." 

"Oh,  where  is  my  dear  child?"  cried  Ceres, 
clasping  her  hands  and  flinging  herself  at  his 
feet. 

"Why,"  said  Phoebus — and  as  he  spoke  he 


224  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

kept  touching  his  lyre  so  as  to  make  a  thread 
of  music  run  in  and  out  among  his  words — 
"as  the  little  damsel  was  gathering  flowers 
(and  she  has  really  a  very  exquisite  taste  for 
flowers)  she  was  suddenly  snatched  up  by 
King  Pluto  and  carried  off  to  his  dominions. 
I  have  never  been  in  that  part  of  the  universe ; 
but  the  royal  palace,  I  am  told,  is  built  in  a 
very  noble  style  of  architecture  and  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  costly  materials.  Gold,  dia 
monds,  pearls,  and  all  manner  of  precious 
stones  will  be  your  daughter's  ordinary  play 
things.  I  recommend  to  you,  my  dear  lady, 
to  give  yourself  no  uneasiness.  Proserpina's 
sense  of  beauty  will  be  duly  gratified,  and 
even  in  spite  of  lack  of  sunshine,  she  will  lead 
a  very  enviable  life." 

44 Hush!  Say  not  such  a  word!"  answered 
Ceres,  indignantly.  <4What  is  there  to  grat 
ify  her  heart?  What  are  all  the  splendors  you 
speak  of,  without  affection?  I  must  have  her 
back  again.  Will  you  go  with  me,  Phoebus, 
to  demand  my  daughter  of  this  wicked 
Pluto?" 

14 Pray  excuse  me,"  replied  Phoebus,  with 
an  elegant  obeisance.  "I  certainly  wish  you 
success,  and  regret  that  my  own  affairs  are  so 
immediately  pressing  that  I  cannot  have  the 


TANGLE  WOOD  TALES.  225 

pleasure  of  attending  you.  Besides,  I  am  not 
on  the  best  of  terms  with  King1  Pluto.  To 
tell  you  the  truth,  his  three-headed  mastiff 
would  never  let  me  pass  the  gateway;  for  I 
should  be  compelled  to  take  a  sheaf  of  sun 
beams  along  with  me,  and  those,  you  know, 
are  forbidden  things  in  Pluto's  kingdom." 

"Ah,  Phoebus,"  said  Ceres,  with  bitter 
meaning  in  her  words,  "you  have  a  harp  in 
stead  of  a  heart.  Farewell." 

"Will  you  not  stay  a  moment,"  asked 
Phoebus,  "and  hear  me  turn  the  pretty  and 
touching  story  of  Proserpina  into  extemporarj' 
verses?" 

But  Ceres  shook  her  head,  and  hastened 
away,  along  with  Hecate.  Phoebus  (who,  as 
I  have  told  you,  was  an  exquisite  poet)  forth 
with  began  to  make  an  ode  about  the  poor 
mother's  grief;  and,  if  we  were  to  judge  of 
his  sensibility  by  this  beautiful  production,  he 
must  have  been  endowed  with  a  very  tender 
heart.  But  when  a  poet  gets  into  the  habit  of 
using  his  heartstrings  to  make  chords  for  his 
lyre,  he  may  thrum  upon  them  as  much  as  he 
will,  without  any  great  pain  to  himself. 

Accordingly,  though  Phoebus  sang  a  very 
sad  song,  he  was  as  merry  all  the  while  as 
were  the  sunbeams  amid  which  he  dwelt. 

15    Tanglewood  Tales 


226  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

Poor  Mother  Ceres  had  now  found  Diit  what 
had  become  of  her  daughter,  but  was  not  a 
whit  happier  than  before.  Her  case,  on  the 
contrary,  looked  more  desperate  than  ever. 
As  long  as  Proserpina  was  above  ground  there 
might  have  been  hopes  of  regaining  her.  But 
now,  that  the  poor  child  was  shut  up  within 
the  iron  gates  of  the  king  of  the  mines,  at  the 
threshold  of  which  lay  the  three-headed  Cer 
berus,  there  seemed  no  possibility  of  her  ever 
making  her  escape.  The  dismal  Hecate,  who 
loved  to  take  the  darkest  view  of  things,  told 
Ceres  that  she  had  better  come  with  her  to  the 
cavern,  and  spend  the  rest  of  her  life  in  being 
miserable.  Ceres  answered  that  Hecate  was 
welcome  to  go  back  thither  herself,  but  that, 
for  her  part,  she  would  wander  about  the  earth 
in  quest  of  the  entrance  to  King  Pluto's 
dominions.  And  Hecate  took  her  at  her 
word,  and  hurried  back  to  her  beloved  cave, 
frightening  a  great  many  little  children  with 
a  glimpse  of  her  dog's  face  as  she  went. 

Poor  Mother  Ceres!  It  is  melancholy  to 
think  of  her,  pursuing  her  toilsome  way  all 
alone,  and  holding  up  that  never-dying  torch, 
the  flame  of  which  seemed  an  emblem  of  the 
grief  and  hope  that  burned  together  in  her 
heart.  So  much  did  she  suffer,  that,  though 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  227 

her  aspect  had  been  quite  youthful  when  her 
toubles  began,  she  grew  to  look  like  an  elderly 
person  in  a  very  brief  time.  She  cared  not 
how  she  was  dressed,  nor  had  she  ever  thought 
of  flinging  away  the  wreath  of  withered  pop 
pies,  which  she  put  on  the  very  morning  of 
Proserpina's  disappearance.  She  roamed  about 
in  so  wild  a  way,  and  with  her  hair  so  dishev 
eled,  that  people  took  her  for  some  distracted 
creature,  and  never  dreamed  that  this  was 
Mother  Ceres,  who  had  the  oversight  of  every 
seed  which  the  husbandman  planted.  Nowa 
days,  however,  she  gave  herself  no  trouble 
about  seed-time  or  harvest,  but  left  the  far 
mers  to  take  care  of  their  own  affairs,  and  the 
crops  to  fade  or  flourish  as  the  case  might  be. 
There  was  nothing  now  in  which  Ceres  seemed 
to  feel  an  interest,  unless  when  she  saw  chil 
dren  at  play,  or  gathering  flowers  along  the 
wayside.  Then,  indeed,  she  would  stand  and 
gaze  at  them  with  tears  in  her  eyes.  The 
children,  too,  appeared  to  have  a  sympathy 
with  her  grief,  and  would  cluster  themselves 
in  a  little  group  about  her  knees,  and  look  up 
wistfully  in  her  face ;  and  Ceres,  after  giving 
them  a  kiss  all  around,  would  lead  them  to 
their  homes,  and  advise  their  mothers  never  to 
let  them  stray  out  of  sight. 


228  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

"For  if  they  do,"  said  she,  "it  may  happen 
to  you,  as  it  has  to  me,  that  the  iron-hearted 
King  Pluto  will  take  a  liking  to  your  darlings, 
and  snatch  them  up  in  his  chariot  and  carry 
them  away. ' ' 

One  day,  during  her  pilgrimage  in  quest  of 
the  entrance  to  Pluto's  kingdom,  she  came  to 
the  palace  of  King  Celeus,  who  reigned  at 
Eleusis.  Ascending  a  lofty  flight  of  steps,  she 
entered  the  portal,  and  found  the  royal  house 
hold  in  very  great  alarm  about  the  queen's 
baby.  The  infant,  it  seems,  was  sickly  (being 
troubled  with  its  teeth,  I  suppose),  and  would 
take  no  food,  and  was  all  the  time  moaning  in 
pain.  The  queen — her  name  was  Metanira — 
was  desirous  of  finding  a  nurse ;  and  when  she 
beheld  a  woman  of  matronly  aspect  coming  up 
the  palace  steps,  she  thought,  in  her  own 
mind,  that  there  was  the  very  person  whom 
she  needed.  So  Queen  Metanira  ran  to  the 
door,  with  the  poor  wailing  baby  in  her  arms, 
and  besought  Ceres  to  take  charge  of  it,  or,  at 
least,  to  tell  her  what  would  do  it  good. 

"Will  you  trust  the  child  entirely  to  me?" 
asked  Ceres. 

"Yes,  and  gladly  too/'  answered  the  queen, 
"if  you  will  devote  all  your  time  to  him.  For 
I  can  see  that  you  have  been  a  mother. " 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  229 

4 'You  are  right,"  said  Ceres.  "I  once  had 
a  child  of  my  own.  Well ;  I  will  be  the  nurse 
of  this  poor,  sickly  boy.  But  beware,  I  warn 
you,  that  you  do  not  interfere  with  any  kind 
of  treatment  which  I  may  judge  proper  for  him. 
If  you  do  so,  the  poor  infant  must  suffer  for 
his  mother's  folly." 

Then  she  kissed  the  child,  and  it  seemed  to 
do  him  good;  for  he  smiled  and  nestled  closely 
into  her  bosom. 

So  Mother  Ceres  set  her  torch  in  a  corner 
(where  it  kept  burning  all  the  while),  and  took 
up  her  abode  in  the  palace  of  King  Celeus,  as 
nurse  to  the  little  Prince  Demophoon.  She 
treated  him  as  if  he  were  her  own  child,  and 
allowed  neither  the  king  nor  the  queen  to  say 
whether  he  should  be  bathed  in  warm  or  cold 
water,  or  what  he  should  eat,  or  how  often  he 
should  take  the  air,  or  when  he  should  be  put 
to  bed.  You  would  hardly  believe  me,  if  I 
were  to  tell  you  how  quickly  the  baby  prince 
got  rid  of  his  ailments,  and  grew  fat,  and  rosy, 
and  strong,  and  how  he  had  two  rows  of  ivory 
teeth  in  less  time  than  any  other  little  fellow, 
before  or  since.  Instead  of  the  palest,  and 
wretchedest,  and  puniest  imp  in  the  world  (as 
his  own  mother  confessed  him  to  be  when 
Ceres  first  took  him  in  charge),  he  was  now  a 


230  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

strapping  baby,  crowing,  laughing,  kicking  up 
his  heels,  and  rolling  from  one  end  of  the 
room  to  the  other.  All  the  good  women  of  the 
neighborhood  crowded  to  the  palace,  and  held 
up  their  hands  in  unutterable  amazement,  at 
the  beauty  and  wholesomeness  of  this  darling 
little  prince.  Their  wonder  was  the  greater, 
because  he  was  never  seen  to  taste  any  food ; 
not  even  so  much  as  a  cup  of  milk. 

4  *  Pray,  nurse,"  the  queen  kept  saying, 
"how  is  it  that  you  make  the  child  thrive  so?" 

4  *  I  was  a  mother  once, ' '  Ceres  always  replied ; 
"and  having  nursed  my  own  child,  I  know 
what  other  children  need. ' ' 

But  Queen  Metanira,  as  was  very  natural, 
had  a  great  curiosity  to  know  precisely  what 
the  nurse  did  to  her  child.  One  night,  there 
fore,  she  hid  herself  in  the  chamber  where  Ceres 
and  the  little  prince  were  accustomed  to  sleep. 
There  was  a  fire  in  the  chimney,  and  it  had 
now  crumbled  into  great  coals  and  embers, 
which  lay  glowing  on  the  hearth,  with  a  blaze 
flickering  up  now  and  then,  and  flinging  a  warm 
and  ruddy  light  upon  the  walls.  Ceres  sat 
before  the  hearth  with  the  child  in  her  lap, 
and  the  firelight  making  her  shadow  dance 
upon  the  ceiling  overhead.  She  undressed 
the  little  prince,  and  bathed  him  all  over  with 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  231 

some  fragrant  liquid  out  of  a  vase.  The  next 
thing  she  did  was  to  rake  back  the  red  embers, 
and  make  a  hollow  place  among  them,  just 
where  the  backlog  had  been.  At  last,  while 
the  baby  was  crowing  and  clapping  its  fat  little 
hands,  and  laughing  in  the  nurse's  face  (just 
as  you  may  have  seen  your  little  brother  or 
sister  do  before  going  into  its  warm  bath), 
Ceres  suddenly  laid  him,  all  naked  as  he  was,  in 
the  hollow  among  the  red-hot  embers.  She 
then  raked  the  ashes  over  him,  and  turned 
quietly  away. 

You  may  imagine,  if  you  can,  how  Queen 
Metanira  shrieked,  thinking  nothing  less  than 
that  her  dear  child  would  be  burned  to  a  cin 
der.  She  burst  forth  from  her  hiding  place 
and  running  to  the  hearth,  raked  open  the  fire, 
and  snatched  up  poor  little  Prince  Demophoon 
out  of  his  bed  of  live  coals,  one  of  which  he 
was  gripping  in  each  of  his  fists.  He  immedi 
ately  set  up  a  grievous  cry,  as  babies  are  apt 
to  do  when  rudely  startled  out  of  a  sound 
sleep.  To  the  queen's  astonishment  and  joy, 
she  could  perceive  no  token  of  the  child's  being 
injured  by  the  hot  fire  in  which  he  had  lain. 
She  now  turned  to  Mother  Ceres,  and  asked 
her  to  explain  the  mystery. 

" Foolish  woman,"  answered  Ceres,  "did  you 


232  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

not  promise  to  intrust  this  poor  infant  entirely 
to  me?  You  little  know  the  mischief  you  have 
done  him.  Had  you  left  him  to  my  care,  he 
would  have  grown  up  like  a  child  of  celestial 
birth,  endowed  with  superhuman  strength  and 
intelligence,  and  would  have  lived  forever. 
Do  you  imagine  that  earthly  children  are  to 
become  immortal  without  being  tempered  to 
it  in  the  fiercest  heat  of  the  fire?  But  you  have 
ruined  your  son.  For  though  he  will  be  a 
strong  man  and  a  hero  in  his  day,  yet,  on 
account  of  your  folly,  he  will  grow  old,  and 
finally  die,  like  the  sons  of  other  women.  The 
weak  tenderness  of  his  mother  has  cost  the 
poor  boy  an  immortality.  Farewell." 

Saying  these  words,  she  kissed  the  little 
Prince  Demophoon,  and  sighed  to  think  what 
he  had  lost,  and  took  her  departure  without 
heeding  Queen  Metanira,  who  entreated  her  to 
remain  and  cover  up  the  child  among  the  hot 
embers  as  often  as  she  pleased.  Poor  baby! 
He  never  slept  so  warmly  again. 

While  she  dwelt  in  the  king's  palace,  Mother 
Ceres  had  been  so  continually  occupied  with 
taking  care  of  the  young  prince,  that  her 
heart  was  a  little  lightened  of  its  grief  for 
Proserpina.  But  now,  having  nothing  else  to 
busy  herself  about,  she  became  just  as  wretched 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  233 

as  before.  At  length,  in  her  despair,  she  came 
to  the  dreadful  resolution  that  not  a  stalk  of 
grain,  nor  a  blade  of  grass,  not  a  potato,  nor  a 
turnip,  nor  any  other  vegetable  that  was  good 
for  man  or  beast  to  eat,  should  be  suffered  to 
grow  until  her  daughter  were  restored.  She 
even  forbade  the  flowers  to  bloom,  lest  some 
body's  heart  should  be  cheered  by  their  beauty. 
Now,  as  not  so  much  as  a  head  of  asparagus 
ever  presumed  to  poke  itself  out  of  the  ground, 
without  the  especial  permission  of  Ceres,  you 
may  conceive  what  a  terrible  calamity  had  here 
fallen  upon  the  earth.  The  husbandmen 
plowed  and  planted  as  usual ;  but  there  lay  the 
rich  black  furrows,  all  as  barren  as  a  desert  of 
sand.  The  pastures  looked  as  brown  in  the 
sweet  month  of  June  as  ever  they  did  in  chill 
November.  The  rich  man's  broad  acres  and 
the  cottager's  small  garden  patch  were  equally 
blighted.  Every  little  girl's  flower-bed  showed 
nothing  but  dry  stalks.  The  old  people  shook 
their  white  heads,  and  said  that  the  earth  had 
grown  aged  like  themselves,  and  was  no  longer 
capable  of  wearing  the  warm  smile  of  summer 
on  its  face.  It  was  really  piteous  to  see  the 
poor,  starving  cattle  and  sheep,  how  they  fol 
lowed  behind  Ceres,  lowing  and  bleating,  as  if 
their  instinct  taught  them  to  expect  help  from 


234  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

her;  and  everybody  that  was  acquainted  with 
her  power  besought  her  to  have  mercy  on  the 
human  race,  and,  at  all  events,  to  let  the  grass 
grow.  But  Mother  Ceres,  though  naturally  of 
an  affectionate  disposition,  was  now  inexorable. 

** Never,"  said  she.  "If  the  earth  is  ever 
again  to  see  any  verdure,  it  must  first  grow 
along  the  path  which  my  daughter  will  tread 
in  coming  back  to  me. ' ' 

Finally,  as  there  seemed  to  be  no  other  rem 
edy,  our  old  friend  Quicksilver  was  sent  post 
haste  to  King  Pluto,  in  hopes  that  he  might  be 
persuaded  to  undo  the  mischief  he  had  done, 
and  to  set  everything  right  again,  by  giving  up 
Proserpina.  Quicksilver  accordingly  made  the 
best  of  his  way  to  the  great  gate,  took  a  flying 
leap  right  over  the  three  headed  mastiff 
and  stood  at  the  door  of  the  palace  in  an 
inconceivably  short  time.  The  servants  knew 
him  both  by  his  face  and  garb ;  for  his  short 
cloak,  and  his  winged  cap  and  shoes,  and  his 
snaky  staff,  had  often  been  seen  thereabouts  in 
times  gone  by.  He  requested  to  be  shown 
immediately  into  the  king's  presence ;  and 
Pluto,  who  heard  his  voice  from  the  top  of  the 
stairs,  and  who  loved  to  recreate  himself  with 
Quicksilver's  merry  talk,  called  out  to  him  to 
come  up.  And  while  they  settled  their  busi- 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  235 

ness  together,  we  must  inquire  what  Proser 
pina  had  been  doing-  ever  since  we  saw  her  last. 

The  child  had  declared,  as  you  may  remem 
ber,  that  she  would  not  taste  a  mouthful  of 
food  as  long  as  she  should  be  compelled  to 
remain  in  King  Pluto's  palace.  How  she  con 
trived  to  maintain  her  resolution,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  keep  herself  tolerably  plump  and 
rosy,  is  more  than  I  can  explain;  but  some 
young  ladies,  I  am  given  to  understand,  pos 
sess  the  faculty  of  living  on  air,  and  Proserpina 
seems  to  have  possessed  it  too.  At  any  rate, 
it  was  now  six  months  since  she  left  the  out 
side  of  the  earth ;  and  not  a  morsel,  so  far  as 
the  attendants  were  able  to  testify,  has  yet 
passed  between  her  teeth.  This  was  the  more 
creditable  to  Proserpina,  inasmuch  as  King 
Pluto  had  caused  her  to  be  tempted,  day  after 
day,  with  all  manner  of  sweetmeats,  and  richly 
preserved  fruits,  and  delicacies  of  every  sort 
such  as  young  people  are  generally  most  fond 
of.  But  her  good  mother  had  often  told  her  of 
the  hurtfulness  of  these  things ;  and  for  that 
reason  alone,  if  there  had  been  no  other,  she 
would  have  resolutely  refused  to  taste  them. 

All  this  time,  being  of  a  cheerful  and  active 
disposition,  the  little  damsel  was  not  quite  so 
unhappy  as  you  may  have  supposed.  The 


236  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

immense  palace  had  a  thousand  rooms,  and 
was  full  of  beautiful  and  wonderful  objects. 
There  was  a  never-ceasing  gloom,  it  is  true, 
which  half  hid  itself  among  the  innumerable 
pillars,  gliding  before  the  child  as  she  wandered 
among  them,  and  treading  stealthily  behind 
her  in  the  echo  of  her  footsteps.  Neither  was 
all  the  dazzle  of  the  precious  stones,  which 
flamed  with  their  own  light,  worth  one  gleam 
of  natural  sunshine ;  nor  could  the  most  bril 
liant  of  the  many-colored  gems,  which  Pros 
erpina  had  for  playthings,  vie  with  the  simple 
beauty  of  the  flowers  she  used  to  gather.  But 
still,  wherever  the  girl  went,  among  those 
gilded  halls  and  chambers,  it  seemed  as  if  she 
carried  nature  and  sunshine  along  with  her, 
and  as  if  she  scattered  dewy  blossoms  on  her 
right  hand  and  on  her  left  After  Proserpina 
came,  the  palace  was  no  longer  the  same  abode 
of  stately  artifice  and  dismal  magnificence  that 
it  had  been  before.  The  inhabitants  all  felt 
this,  and  King  Pluto  more  than  any  of  them. 
"My  own  little  Proserpina,"  he  used  to  say, 
"I  wish  you  could  like  me  a  little  better.  We 
gloomy  and  cloudy-natured  persons  have  often 
as  warm  hearts  at  bottom  as  those  of  a  more 
cheerful  character.  If  you  would  only  stay  with 
me  of  your  own  accord,  it  would  make  me  hap- 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  237 

pier  than  the  possession  of  a  hundred  such 
palaces  as  this. ' ' 

"Ah,"  said  Proserpina,  "you  should  have 
tried  to  make  me  like  you  before  carrying  me 
off.  And  the  best  thing  you  can  do  now  is  to 
let  me  go  again.  Then  I  might  remember  you 
sometimes,  and  think  that  you  were  as  kind  as 
you  knew  how  to  be.  Perhaps,  too,  one  day 
or  other,  I  might  come  back  and  pay  you  a 
visit." 

"No,  no,"  answered  Pluto,  with  his  gloomy 
smile,  "I  will  not  trust  you  for  that.  You  are 
too  fond  of  living  in  the  broad  daylight  and 
gathering  flowers.  What  an  idle  and  childish 
taste  that  is!  Are  not  the.se  gems,  which  I 
have  ordered  to  be  dug  for  you,  and  which  are 
richer  than  any  in  my  crown — are  they  not 
prettier  than  a  violet?" 

4  *  Not  half  so  pretty, ' '  said  Proserpina,  snatch 
ing  the  gems  from  Pluto's  hand,  and  flinging 
them  to  the  other  end  of  the  hall.  "Oh,  my 
sweet  violets,  shall  I  never  see  you  again?" 

And  then  she  burst  into  tears.  But  young 
peoples'  tears  have  very  little  saltness  or  acid 
ity  in  them,  and  do  not  inflame  the  eyes  so 
much  as  those  of  grown  persons,  so  that  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  if,  a  few  moments  after 
wards,  Proserpina  was  sporting  through  the 


238  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

hall  almost  as  merrily  as  she  and  the  four  sea- 
nymphs  had  sported  along  the  edge  of  the  surf 
wave.  King  Pluto  gazed  after  her,  and  wished 
that  he,  too,  was  a  child.  And  little  Proser 
pina,  when  she  turned  about,  and  beheld  the 
great  king  standing  in  his  splendid  hall,  and 
looking  so  grand  and  so  melancholy,  and  so 
lonesome,  was  smitten  with  a  kind  of  pity. 
She  ran  back  to  him,  and  for  the  first  time  in 
all  her  life,  put  her  small  soft  hand  in  his. 

"I  love  you  a  little, "  whispered  she,  looking 
tip  in  his  face. 

"Do  you,  indeed,  my  dear  child?"  cried 
Pluto,  bending  his  dark  face  down  to  kiss  her ; 
but  Proserpina  shrank  away  from  the  kiss,  for 
though  his  features  were  noble,  they  were  very 
dusky  and  grim.  "Well,  I  have  not  deserved 
it  of  you,  after  keeping  you  a  prisoner  for  so 
many  months,  and  starving  you,  besides.  Are 
you  not  terribly  hungry?  Is  there  nothing 
which  I  can  get  you  to  eat?" 

In  asking  this  question,  the  king  of  the  mines 
had  a  very  cunning  purpose :  for,  if  you  will 
recollect,  if  Proserpina  tasted  a  morsel  of  food 
in  his  dominions,  she  would  never  afterward  be 
at  liberty  to  quit  them. 

"No,  indeed,"  said  Proserpina.  "Your  head 
cook  is  always  baking,  and  stewing,  and  roast- 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  239 

ing,  and  rolling  out  paste,  and  contriving  one 
dish  or  another,  which  he  imagines  may  be  to 
my  liking.  But  he  might  just  as  well  save 
himself  the  trouble,  poor,  fat,  little  man,  that 
he  is.  I  have  no  appetite  for  anything  in  the 
world,  unless  it  were  a  slice  of  bread  of  my 
mother's  own  baking,  or  a  little  fruit  out  of 
her  garden." 

When  Pluto  heard  this,  he  began  to  see  that 
he  had  mistaken  the  best  method  of  tempting 
Proserpina  to  eat.  The  cook's  made  dishes  and 
artificial  dainties  were  not  half  so  delicious,  in 
the  good  child's  opinion,  as  the  simple  fare  to 
which  Mother  Ceres  had  accustomed  her. 
Wondering  that  he  had  never  thought  of  it 
before,  the  king  now  sent  one  of  his  trusty 
attendants  with  a  large  basket,  to  get  some  of 
the  finest  and  juiciest  pears,  peaches,  and  plums, 
which  could  anywhere  be  found  in  the  upper 
world.  Unfortunately,  however,  this  was  dur 
ing  the  time  when  Ceres  had  forbidden  any 
fruits  or  vegetables  to  grow ;  and,  after  seek 
ing  all  over  the  earth,  King  Pluto's  servant 
found  only  a  single  pomegranate,  and  that  so 
dried  up  as  to  be  not  worth  eating.  Never 
theless,  since  there  was  no  better  to  be  had,  he 
brought  this  dry,  old,  withered  pomegranate 
home  to  the  palace,  put  it  on  a  magnificent 


240  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

golden  salver,  and  carried  it  up  to  Proserpina. 
Now  it  happened,  curiously  enough,  that,  just 
as  the  servant  was  bringing  the  pomegranate 
into  the  back  door  of  the  palace,  our  friend 
Quicksilver  had  gone  up  the  front  steps,  on  his 
errand  to  get  Proserpina  away  from  King 
Pluto. 

As  soon  as  Proserpina  saw  the  pomegranate 
on  the  golden  salver,  she  told  the  servant  he 
had  better  take  it  away  again. 

"I  shall  not  touch  it,  I  assure  you,"  said 
she.  "If  I  were  ever  so  hungry,  I  should 
never  think  of  eating  such  a  miserable,  dry 
pomegranate  as  tliat. ' ' 

"It  is  the  only  one  in  the  world/'  said  the 
servant. 

He  set  down  the  golden  salver,  with  the 
wizened  pomegranate  upon  it,  and  left  the 
room.  When  he  was  gone,  Proserpina  could 
not  help  coming  close  to  the  table,  and  looking 
at  this  poor  specimen  of  dried  fruit  with  a  great 
deal  of  eagerness;  for,  to  say  the  truth,  on 
seeing  something  that  suited  her  taste,  she  felt 
all  the  six  months'  appetite  taking  possession 
of  her  at  once.  To  be  sure,  it  was  a  very 
wretched-looking  pomegranate,  and  seemed  to 
have  no  more  juice  in  it  than  an  oyster  shell. 
But  there  was  no  choice  of  such  things  in  King 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  241 

Pluto's  palace.  This  was  the  first  fruit  she 
had  seen  there,  and  the  last  she  was  ever 
likely  to  see;  and  unless  she  ate  it  up  imme 
diately,  it  would  grow  drier  than  it  already  was, 
and  be  wholly  unfit  to  eat. 

* l  At  least,  I  may  smell  it, ' '  thought  Pros 
erpina. 

So  she  took  up  the  pomegranate,  and  applied 
it  to  her  nose;  and  somehow  or  other,  being  in 
such  close  neighborhood  to  her  mouth,  the 
fruit  found  its  way  into  that  little  red  cave. 
Dear  me!  what  an  everlasting  pity!  Before 
Proserpina  knew  what  she  was  about,  her 
teeth  had  actually  bitten  it,  of  their  own  ac 
cord.  Just  as  this  fatal  deed  was  done,  the 
door  of  the  apartment  opened,  and  in  came 
King  Pluto,  followed  by  Quicksilver,  who  had 
been  urging  him  to  let  his  little  prisoner  go. 
At  the  first  noise  of  their  entrance,  Proserpina 
withdrew  the  pomegranate  from  her  mouth. 
But  Quicksilver  (whose  eyes  were  very  keen, 
and  his  wits  the  sharpest  that  ever  anybody 
had)  perceived  that  the  child  was  a  little  con 
fused;  and  seeing  the  empty  salver,  he  sus 
pected  that  she  had  been  taking  a  sly  nibble  of 
something  or  other.  As  for  honest  Pluto, 
he  never  guessed  at  the  secret. 

"My  little  Proserpina, "said  the  king,  sitting 

16    Tanglewood  Tales 


242  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

down,  and  affectionately  drawing  her  between 
his  knees,  "here  is  Quicksilver,  who  tells  me 
that  a  great  many  misfortunes  have  befallen 
innocent  people  on  account  of  my  detaining 
you  in  my  dominions.  To  confess  the  truth, 
I  myself  had  already  reflected  that  it  was  ar. 
unjustifiable  act  to  take  you  away  from  your 
good  mother.  But,  then,  you  must  consider 
my  dear  child,  that  this  vast  palace  is  apt  to  be 
gloomy  (although  the  precious  stones  certain!) 
shine  very  bright),  and  that  I  am  not  of  the 
most  cheerful  disposition,  and  that  therefore, 
it  was  a  natural  thing  enough  to  seek  for  the 
society  of  some  merrier  creature  than  myself. 
I  hoped  you  would  take  my  crown  for  a  play 
thing,  and  me — ah,  you  laugh,  naughty  Pros 
erpina — me,  grim  as  I  am,  for  a  playmate. 
It  was  a  silly  expectation." 

"Not  so  extremely  silly,"  whispered  Pros 
erpina.  "You  have  really  amused  me  very 
much,  sometimes.'1 

"Thank  you,"  said  King  Pluto,  rather 
drily.  "But  I  can  see,  plainly  enough,  that 
you  think  iny  palace  a  dusky  prison,  and  me 
the  iron-hearted  keeper  of  it.  And  an  iron 
heart  I  should  surely  have,  if  I  could  detain 
you  here  any  longer,  my  poor  child,  when  it 
is  now  six  months  since  you  tasted  food.  I 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  243 

give  you  your   liberty.       Go  with  Quicksilver. 
Hasten  home  to  your  dear  mother." 

Now,  although  you  may  not  have  supposed 
it,  Proserpina  found  it  impossible  to  take  leave 
of  poor  King  Pluto  without  some  regrets,  and 
a  good  deal  of  compunction  for  not  telling  him 
about  the  pomegranate.  She  even  shed  a 
tear  or  two,  thinking  how  lonely  and  cheerless 
the  great  palace  would  seem  to  him,  with  all 
its  ugly  glare  and  artificial  light,  after  she 
herself — his  one  little  ray  of  natural  sunshine, 
whom  he  had  stolen,  to  be  sure,  but  only 
because  he  valued  her  so  much — after  she 
should  have  departed.  I  know  not  how  many 
kind  things  she  might  have  said  to  the  dis 
consolate  king  of  the  mines,  had  not  Quick 
silver  hurried  her  away. 

"Come  along  quickly,"  whispered  he  in  her 
ear,  (4or  his  Majesty  may  change  his  royal 
mind.  And  take  care,  above  all  things,  that 
you  say  nothing  of  what  was  brought  you  on 
the  golden  salver. ' ' 

In  a  very  short  time,  they  had  passed  the 
great  gateway  (leaving  the  three-headed 
Cerberus,  barking,  and  yelping,  and  growling, 
with  threefold  din,  behind  them),  and  emerged 
upon  the  surface  of  the  earth.  It  was  delight 
ful  to  behold,  as  Proserpina  hastened  along, 


244  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

how  the  path  grew  verdant  behind  and  on 
either  side  of  her.  Wherever  she  set  her  blessed 
foot,  there  was  at  once  a  dewy  flower.  The 
violets  gushed  up  along  the  wayside.  The 
grass  and  the  grain  began  to  sprout  with  ten 
fold  vigor  and  luxuriance,  to  make  up  for  the 
dreary  months  that  had  been  wasted  in  bar 
renness.  The  starved  cattle  immediately  set 
to  work  grazing,  after  their  long  fast,  and  ate 
enormously  all  day,  and  got  up  at  midnight  to 
eat  more.  But  I  can  assure  you  it  was  a  busy 
time  of  year  with  the  farmers,  when  they 
found  the  summer  coming  upon  them  with 
such  a  rush.  Nor  must  I  forget  to  say  that  all 
the  birds  in  the  whole  world  hopped  about 
upon  the  newly  blossoming  trees,  and  sang 
together  in  a  prodigious  ecstasy  of  joy. 

Mother  Ceres  had  returned  to  her  deserted 
home,  and  was  sitting  disconsolately  on  the 
doorstep,  with  her  torch  burning  in  her  hand. 
She  had  been  idly  watching  the  flame  for  some 
moments  past,  when,  all  at  once,  it  flickered 
and  went  out. 

"What  does  this  mean?"  thought  she.  "It 
was  an  enchanted  torch,  and  should  have  kept 
burning  till  my  child  came  back. " 

Lifting  her  eyes,  she  was  surprised  to  see 
a  sudden  verdure  flashing  over  the  brovn  and 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  245 

barren  fields,  exactly  as  you  may  have  observed 
a  golden  hue  gleaming  far  and  wide  across  the 
landscape,  from  the  just  risen  sun. 

"Does  the  earth  disobey  me?"  exclaimed 
Mother  Ceres,  indignantly.  "Does  it  pre 
sume  to  be  green,  when  I  have  bidden  it  to  be 
barren,  until  my  daughter  shall  be  restored  to 
my  arms?" 

"Then  open  your  arms,  dear  mother,"  cried 
a  well-known  voice,  "and  take  your  little 
daughter  into  them. ' ' 

And  Proserpina  came  running,  and  flung 
herself  upon  her  mother's  bosom.  Their 
mutual  transport  is  not  to  be  described.  The 
grief  of  their  separation  had  caused  both  of 
them  to  shed  a  great  many  tears ;  and  now  they 
shed  a  great  many  more,  because  their  joy 
could  not  so  well  express  itself  in  any  other 
way. 

When  their  hearts  had  grown  a  little  more 
quiet,  Mother  Ceres  looked  anxiously  at  Pros 
erpina. 

"My  child,"  said  she,  "did  you  taste  any  food 
while  you  were  in  King  Pluto's  palace?" 

"Dearest  mother,"  answered  Proserpina,  "I 
will  tell  you  the  whole  truth.  Until  this  very 
morning,  not  a  morsel  of  food  had  passed  my 
lips.  But  to-day,  they  brought  me  a  pome- 


246  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

granate  (a  very  dry  one  it  was,  and  all  shriv 
eled  up,  till  there  was  little  left  of  it  but  seeds 
and  skin),  and  having  seen  no  fruit  for  so  long 
a  time,  and  being  faint  with  hunger,  I  was 
tempted  just  to  bite  it.  The  instant  I  tasted  it, 
King  Pluto  and  Quicksilver  came  into  the 
room.  I  had  not  swallowed  a  morsel;  but- 
dear  mother,  I  hope  it  was  no  harm — but  six 
of  the  pomegranate  seeds,  I  am  afraid, 
remained  in  my  mouth. ' ' 

"Ah,  unfortunate  child,  and  miserable  me!" 
exclaimed  Ceres.  "For  each  of  those  six  pomer 
granate  seeds  you  must  spend  one  month  of 
every  year  in  King  Pluto's  palace.  You  are 
but  half  restored  to  your  mother.  Only  six 
months  with  me,  and  six  months  with  that 
good-for-nothing  King  of  Darkness!" 

''Do  not  speak  so  harshly  of  poor  King 
Pluto,"  said  Proserpina,  kissing  her  mother. 
"He  has  some  very  good  qualities;  and  I  really 
think  I  can  bear  to  spend  six  months  in  his 
palace,  if  he  will  only  let  me  spend  the  other 
six  with  you.  He  certainly  did  very  wrong  to 
carry  me  off;  but  then,  as  he  says,  it  was  but 
a  dismal  sort  of  life  for  him,  to  live  in  that  great 
gloomy  palace,  all  alone ;  and  it  has  made  a 
wonderful  change  in  his  spirits  to  have  a  little 
girl  to  run  up  stairs  and  down.  There  is  some 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  247 

comfort  in  making  him  so  happy;  and  so,  upon 
the  whole,  dearest  mother,  let  us  be  thankful 
that  he  is  not  to  keep  me  the  whole  year 
round." 


248  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 


THE  GOLDEN  FLEECE. 


When  Jason,  the  son  of  the  dethroned  King 
of  lolchos,  was  a  little  boy,  he  was  sent 
away  from  his  parents,  and  placed  under  the 
queerest  schoolmaster  that  ever  you  heard  of. 
This  learned  person  was  one  of  the  people,  or 
quadrupeds,  called  Centaurs.  He  lived  in  a 
cavern,  and  had  the  body  and  legs  of  a  white 
horse,  with  the  head  and  shoulders  of  a  man. 
His  name  was  Chiron ;  and,  in  spite  of  his  odd 
appearance,  he  was  a  very  excellent  teacher, 
and  had  several  scholars,  who  afterward  did 
him  credit  by  making  a  great  figure  in  the 
world.  The  famous  Hercules  was  one,  and  so 
was  Achilles,  and  Philoctetes,  likewise,  and 
-^Esculapius,  who  acquired  immense  repute  as 
a  doctor.  The  good  Chiron  taught  his  pupils 
how  to  play  upon  the  harp,  and  how  to  cure 
diseases,  and  how  to  use  the  sword  and  shield, 
together  with  various  other  branches  of  educa 
tion,  in  which  the  lads  of  those  (Jays  used  to 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  249 

be  instructed,  instead  of  writing  and  arith 
metic, 

I  have  sometimes  suspected  that  Master 
Chiron  was  not  really  very  different  from  other 
people,  but  that,  being  a  kind-hearted  and 
merry  old  fellow,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  mak 
ing  believe  that  he  was  a  horse,  and  scram 
bling  about  the  school-room  on  all  fours,  and 
letting  the  little  boys  ride  upon  his  back. 
And  so,  when  his  scholars  had  grown  up,  and 
grown  old,  and  were  trotting  their  grand 
children  on  their  knees,  they  told  them  about 
the  sports  of  their  school-days;  and  these 
young  folks  took  the  idea  that  their  grand 
fathers  had  been  taught  their  letters  by  a 
Centaur,  half  man  and  half  horse.  Little  chil 
dren,  riot  quite  understanding  what  is  said  to 
them,  often  get  such  absurd  notions  into  their 
heads,  you  know. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  it  has  always  been  told  for 
a  fact  (and  always  will  be  told,  as  long  as  the 
world  lasts),  that  Chiron,  with  the  head  of  a 
schoolmaster,  had  the  body  and  legs  of  a 
horse.  Just  imagine  the  grave  old  gentleman 
clattering  and  stamping  into  the  school-room 
on  his  four  hoofs,  perhaps  treading  on  some 
little  fellow's  toes,  flourishing  his  switch  tail 
instead  of  a  rod,  and,  now  a'nd  then,  trotting 


250  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

out  of  doors  to  eat  a  mouthful  of  grass!  I 
wonder  what  the  blacksmith  charged  him  for 
a  set  of  iron  shoes. 

So  Jason  dwelt  in  the  cave,  with  this  four- 
footed  Chiron,  from  the  time  that  he  was  an 
infant,  only  a  few  months  old,  until  he  had 
grown  to  the  full  height  of  a  man.  He  be 
came  a  very  good  harper,  I  suppose,  and  skill 
ful  in  the  use  of  weapons,  and  tolerably  ac 
quainted  with  herbs  and  other  doctor's  stuff, 
and,  above  all,  an  admirable  horseman ;  for, 
in  teaching  young  people  how  to  ride,  the  good 
Chiron  must  have  been  without  a  rival  among 
schoolmasters.  At  length,  being  now  a  tall 
and  athletic  youth,  Jason  resolved  to  seek  his 
fortune  in  the  world,  without  asking  Chiron's 
advice,  or  telling  him  anything  about  the  mat 
ter.  This  was  very  unwise,  be  sure,  and  I 
hope  none  of  you,  my  little  hearers,  will  ever 
follow  Jason's  example.  But,  you  are  to  un 
derstand,  he  had  heard  how  that  he  himself 
was  a  prince  royal,  and  how  his  father,  King 
^Eson,  had  been  deprived  of  the  kingdom  of 
lolchos  by  a  certain  Pelias,  who  would  also 
have  killed  Jason,  had  he  not  been  hidden  in 
the  Centaur's  cave.  And,  being  come  to  the 
strength  of  a  man,  Jason  determined  to  set  all 
his  business  to  rights,  and  to  punish  the 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  251 

wicked  Pelias  for  wronging  his  dear  father, 
and  to  cast  him  down  from  the  throne,  and 
seat  himself  there  instead. 

With  this  intention,  he  took  a  spear  in  each 
hand,  and  threw  a  leopard's  skin  over  his 
shoulders,  to  keep  off  the  rain,  and  set  forth 
on  his  travels,  with  his  long  yellow  ringlets 
waving  in  the  wind.  The  part  of  his  dress  on 
which  he  most  prided  himself  was  a  pair  of 
sandals,  that  had  been  his  father's.  They 
were  handsomely  embroidered,  and  were  tied 
upon  his  feet  with  strings  of  gold.  But  his 
whole  attire  was  such  as  people  did  not  very 
often  see;  and  as  he  passed  along,  the  women 
and  children  ran  to  the  doors  and  windows, 
wondering  whither  this  beautiful  youth  was 
journeying,  with  his  leopard's  skin  and  his 
golden-tied  sandals,  and  what  heroic  deeds  he 
meant  to  perform,  with  a  spear  in  his  right 
hand  and  another  in  his  left. 

I  know  not  how  far  Jason  had  traveled, 
when  he  came  to  a  turbulent  river,  which 
rushed  right  across  his  pathway,  with  specks 
of  white  foam  among  its  black  eddies,  hurry 
ing  tumultuously  onward,  and  roaring  angrily 
as  it  went.  Though  not  a  very  broad  river  in 
the  dry  seasons  of  the  year,  it  was  now  swollen 
by  heavy  rains  and  by  the  melting  of  the  snow 


252  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

on  the  sides  of  Mount  Olympus;  and  it  thun 
dered  so  loudly,  and  looked  so  wild  and  dan 
gerous,  that  Jason,  bold  as  he  was,  thought 
it  prudent  to  pause  upon  the  brink.  The  bed 
of  the  stream  seemed  to  be  strewn  with  sharp 
and  rugged  rocks,  some  of  which  thrust  them 
selves  above  the  water.  By  and  by,  an  up 
rooted  tree,  with  shattered  branches,  came 
drifting  along  the  current,  and  got  entangled 
among  the  rocks.  Now  and  then,  a  drowned 
sheep,  and  once  the  carcass  of  a  cow,  floated 
past. 

In  short,  the  swollen  river  had  already  done 
a  great  deal  of  mischief.  It  was  evidently  too 
deep  for  Jason  to  wade,  and  too  boisterous  for 
him  to  swim ;  he  could  see  no  bridge ;  and  as 
for  a  boat,  had  there  been  any,  the  rocks 
would  have  broken  it  to  pieces  in  an  instant. 

44  See  the  poor  lad, "  said  a  cracked  voice  close 
to  his  side.  "He  must  have  had  but  a  poor 
education,  since  he  does  not  know  how  to  cross 
a  little  stream  like  this.  Or  is  he  afraid  of  wet 
ting  his  fine  golden- stringed  sandals?  It  is  a 
pity  his  four-footed  schoolmaster  is  not  here  to 
carry  him  safely  across  on  his  back." 

Jason  looked  around  greatly  surprised,  for 
he  did  not  know  that  anybody  was  near.  But 
beside  him  stood  an  old  woman,  with  a  ragged 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  253 

mantle  over  her  head,  leaning  on  a  staff,  the 
top  of  which  was  carved  into  the  shape  of  a 
cuckoo.  She  looked  very  aged,  and  wrinkled, 
and  infirm ;  and  yet  her  eyes,  which  were  as 
brown  as  those  of  an  ox,  were  so  extremely 
large  and  beautiful  that,  when  they  were  fixed 
on  Jason's  eyes,  he  could  see  nothing  else  but 
them.  The  old  woman  had  a  pomegranate  in 
her  hand,  although  the  fruit  was  then  quite 
out  of  season. 

"Whither  are  you  going,  Jason?"  she  now 
asked. 

She  seemed  to  know  his  name,  you  will 
observe;  and,  indeed,  those  great  brown  eyes 
looked  as  if  they  had  a  knowledge  of  every 
thing,  whether  past  or  to  come.  While  Jason 
was  gazing  at  her,  a  peacock  strutted  forward 
and  took  his  stand  at  the  old  woman's  side. 

44 1  am  going  to  lolchos,"  answered  the 
young  man,  <4to  bid  the  wicked  King  Pelias  to 
come  down  from  my  father's  throne,  and  let 
me  reign  in  his  stead." 

44 Ah,  well,  then,"  said  the  old  woman,  still 
with  the  same  cracked  voice,  "if  that  is  all 
your  business,  you  need  not  be  in  a  very  great 
hurry.  Just  take  me  on  your  back,  there's  a 
good  youth,  and  carry  me  across  the  river.  I 


254  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

and  my  peacock  have  something  to  do  on  the 
other  side,  as  well  as  yourself." 

"Good  mother,"  replied  Jason,  " your  busi 
ness  can  hardly  be  so  important  as  the  pulling 
down  of  a  king  upon  his  throne.  Besides,  as 
you  may  see  for  yourself,  the  river  is  very 
boisterous;  and  if  I  should  chance  to  stumble, 
it  would  sweep  both  of  us  away  more  easily 
than  it  has  carried  off  yonder  uprooted  tree. 
I  would  gladly  help  you  if  I  could ;  but  I  doubt 
whether  I  am  strong  enough  to  carry  you 
across. ' ' 

"Then,"  said  she,  very  scornfully,  "neither 
are  you  strong  enough  to  pull  King  Pelias  off 
his  throne.  And,  Jason,  unless  you  will  help 
an  old  woman  at  her  need,  you  ought  not  to 
be  a  king.  What  are  kings  made  for,  save  to 
succor  the  feeble  and  distressed?  But  do  as 
you  please.  Either  take  me  on  your  back,  or 
with  my  poor  old  limbs  I  shall  try  my  best 
to  struggle  across  the  stream." 

Saying  this,  the  old  woman  poked  with  her 
staff  in  the  river,  as  if  to  find  the  safest  place 
in  its  rocky  bed  where  she  might  make  the 
first  step.  But  Jason,  by  this  time,  had  grown 
ashamed  of  his  reluctance  to  help  her.  He 
felt  that  he  could  never  forgive  himself,  if  this 
poor  feeble  creature  should  come  to  any  harm 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  255 

in  attempting  to  wrestle  against  the  headlong 
current.  The  good  Chiron,  whether  half 
horse  or  no,  had  taught  him  that  the  noblest 
use  of  his  strength  was  to  assist  the  weak; 
and  also  that  he  must  treat  every  young 
woman  as  if  she  were  his  sister,  and  every  old 
one  like  a  mother.  Remembering  these  max 
ims,  the  vigorous  and  beautiful  young  man 
knelt  down,  and  requested  the  good  dame  to 
mount  upon  his  back. 

4 'The  passage  seems  to  me  not  very  safe, " 
he  remarked.  "But  as  your  business  is  so  ur 
gent,  I  will  try  to  carry  you  across.  If  the 
river  sweeps  you  away,  it  shall  take  me,  too. ' ' 

44 That,  no  doubt,  will  be  a  great  comfort  to 
both  of  us, ' '  quoth  the  old  woman.  4  4  But  never 
fear.  We  shall  get  safely  across. ' ' 

So  she  threw  her  arms  around  Jason's  neck ; 
and  lifting  her  from  the  ground,  he  stepped 
boldly  into  the  raging  and  foamy  current,  and 
began  to  stagger  away  from  the  shore.  As 
for  the  peacock,  it  alighted  on  the  old  dame's 
shoulder.  Jason's  two  spears,  one  in  each 
hand,  kept  him  from  stumbling,  and  enabled 
him  to  feel  his  way  among  the  hidden  rocks, 
although,  every  instant,  he  expected  that  his 
companion  and  himself  would  go  down  the 
stream,  together  with  the  driftwood  of  shat. 


256  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

tered  trees,  and  the  carcasses  of  the  sheep  and 
cow.  Down  came  the  cold,  snowy  torrent 
from  the  steep  side  of  Olympus,  raging  and 
thundering  as  if  it  had  a  real  spite  against 
Jason,  or  at  all  events,  were  determined  to 
snatch  off  his  living  burden  from  his  shoulders. 
When  he  was  half-way  across,  the  uprooted 
tree  (which  I  have  already  told  you  about) 
broke  loose  from  among  the  rocks,  and  bore 
down  upon  him,  with  all  its  splintered 
branches  sticking  out  like  the  hundred  arms 
of  the  giant  Briareus.  Pt  rushed  past,  how 
ever,  without  touching  him.  But  the  next 
moment  his  foot  was  caught  in  a  crevice  be 
tween  two  rocks,  and  stuck  there  so  fast  that, 
in  the  effort  to  get  free,  he  lost  one  of  his 
golden-stringed  sandals. 

At  this  accident  Jason  could  not  help  utter 
ing  a  cry  of  vexation. 

44 What  is  the  matter,  Jason?'  asked  the  old 
woman. 

4 'Matter  enough,"  said  the  young  man.  <4I 
have  lost  a  sandal  here  among  the  rocks.  And 
what  sort  of  a  figure  shall  I  cut  at  the  court  of 
King  Pelias,  with  a  golden-stringed  sandal  on 
one  foot,  and  the  other  foot  bare ! ' ' 

44 Do  not  take  it  to  heart,"  answered  his  com 
panion,  cheerily.  44You  never  met  with  better 


TANGLEWOOD    TALES.  257 

fortune  than  in  losing  that  sandal.  It  satisfies 
me  that  you  are  the  very  person  whom  the 
Speaking  Oak  has  been  talking  about." 

There  was  no  time,  just  then,  to  inquire 
what  the  Speaking  Oak  had  said.  But  the 
briskness  of  her  tone  encouraged  the  young 
man ;  and,  besides,  he  had  never  in  his  life  felt 
so  vigorous  and  mighty  as  since  taking  this  old 
woman  on  his  back.  Instead  of  being  ex 
hausted,  he  gathered  strength  as  he  went  on; 
and,  struggling  up  against  the  torrent,  he  at 
last  gained  the  opposite  shore,  clambered 
up  the  bank  and  set  down  the  old  dame 
and  her  peacock  safely  on  the  grass.  As 
soon  as  this  was  done,  however,  he  could 
not  help  looking  rather  despondently  at  his 
bare  foot,  with  only  a  remnant  of  the  golden 
string  of  the  sandal  clinging  round  his  ankle. 

14  You  will  get  a  handsomer  pair  of  sandals 
by  and  by,"  said  the  old  woman,  with  the 
kindly  look  out  of  her  beautiful  brown  eyes. 
"Only  let  King  Pelias  get  a  glimpse  of  that 
bare  foot,  and  you  shall  see  him  turn  as  pale 
as  ashes,  I  promise  you.  There  is  your  path. 
Go  along,  my  good  Jason,  and  my  blessing 
go  with  you,  and  when  you  sit  on  your  throne, 
remember  the  old  woman  whom  you  helped 
over  the  river. ' ' 

17    Tanjlewood  Tales 


258  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

With  these  words,  she  hobbled  away,  giving 
him  a  smile  over  her  shoulder  as  she  departed. 
Whether  the  light  of  her  beautiful  brown  eyes 
threw  a  glory  round  about  her,  or  whatever 
the  cause  might  be,  Jason  fancied  that  there 
was  something  very  noble  and  majestic  in  her 
figure,  after  all,  and  that,  though  her  gait 
seemed  to  be  a  rheumatic  hobble,  yet  she 
moved  with  as  much  grace  and  dignity  as  any 
queen  on  earth.  Her  peacock,  which  had  now 
fluttered  down  from  her  shoulder,  strutted 
behind  her  in  prodigious  pomp,  and  spread  out 
its  magnificent  tail  on  purpose  for  Jason  to 
admire  it. 

When  the  old  dame  and  her  peacock  were 
out  of  sight,  Jason  set  forward  on  his  journey. 
After  traveling  a  pretty  long  distance,  he  came 
to  a  town  situated  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain, 
and  not  a  great  way  from  the  shore  of  the  sea. 
On  the  outside  of  the  town  there  was  an  im 
mense  crowd  of  people,  not  only  men  and 
women,  but  children,  too,  all  in  their  best 
clothes,  and  evidently  enjoying  a  holiday. 
The  crowd  was  thickest  toward  the  seashore ; 
and  in  that  direction,  over  the  people's  heads, 
Jason  saw  a  wreath  of  smoke  curling  upward 
to  the  blue  sky.  He  inquired  of  one  of  the 
multitude  what  town  it  was,  near  by,  and  why 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  259 

so  many  persons  were  here  assembled  to 
gether. 

4 'This  is  the  kingdom  of  lolchos,"  answered 
the  man,  "and  we  are  the  subjects  of  King 
Pelias.  Our  monarch  has  summoned  us 
together,  that  we  may  see  him  sacrifice  a  black 
bull  to  Neptune,  who,  they  say,  is  his  Majesty's 
father.  Yonder  is  the  king,  where  you  see  the 
smoke  going  up  from  the  altar." 

While  the  young  man  spoke,  he  eyed  Jason 
with  great  curiosity;  for  his  garb  was  quite 
unlike  that  of  the  lolchians,  and  it  looked  very 
odd  to  see  a  youth  with  a  leopard's  skin  over 
his  shoulders,  and  each  hand  grasping  a  spear. 
Jason  perceived,  too,  that  the  man  stared  par 
ticularly  at  his  feet,  one  of  which,  you  remem 
ber,  was  bare,  while  the  other  was  decorated 
with  his  father's  golden-stringed  sandal. 

4  *  Look  at  him!  only  look  at  him!"  said  the 
man  to  his  next  neighbor.  "Do  you  see,  he 
wears  but  one  sandal!" 

Upon  this,  first  one  person,  and  then  another 
began  to  stare  at  Jason,  and  everybody  seemed 
to  be  greatly  struck  with  something  in  his 
aspect;  though  they  turned  their  eyes  much 
oftener  toward  his  feet  than  to  any  other  part 
of  his  figure.  Besides,  he  could  hear  them  whis 
pering  to  one  another. 


260  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

44 One  sandal!  One  sandal!"  they  kept 
raying.  "The  man  with  one  sandal!  Here 
he  is  at  last!  Whence  has  he  come?  What 
does  he  mean  to  do?  What  will  the  king  say 
to  the  one-sandaled  man?" 

Poor  Jason  was  greatly  abashed,  and  made 
up  his  mind  that  the  people  of  lolchos  were 
exceedingly  ill-bred,  to  take  such  public  notice 
of  an  accidental  deficiency  in  his  dress.  Mean 
while,  whether  it  were  that  they  hustled  him 
forward,  or  that  Jason,  of  his  own  accord, 
thrust  a  passage  through  the  crowd,  it  so  hap 
pened  that  he  soon  found  himself  close  to  the 
smoking  altar,  where  King  Pelias  was  sacri 
ficing  the  black  bull.  The  murmur  and  hum 
of  the  multitude,  in  their  surprise  at  the  spec 
tacle  of  Jason  with  his  one  bare  foot,  grew  so 
loud  that  it  disturbed  the  ceremonies;  and  the 
king,  holding  the  great  knife  with  which  he 
was  just  going  to  cut  the  bull's  throat,  turned 
angrily  about,  and  fixed  his  eyes  on  Jason. 
The  people  had  now  withdrawn  from  around 
him,  so  that  the  youth  stood  in  an  open  space 
near  the  smoking  altar,  front  to  front  with  the 
angry  King  Pelias. 

"Who  are  you?"  cried  the  king,  with  a  ter 
rible  frown.  "And  how  dare  you  make  this 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  261 

disturbance,  while  I  am  sacrificing  a  black 
bull  to  my  father  Neptune?" 

4 'It  is  no  fault  of  mine,'*  answered  Jason. 
"Your  Majesty  must  blame  the  rudeness  of 
your  subjects,  who  have  raised  all  this  tumult 
because  one  of  my  feet  happens  to  be  bare." 

When  Jason  said  this,  the  king  gave  a  quick, 
startled  glance  down  at  his  feet. 

<lHa!"  muttered  he,  "here  is  the  one- 
sandaled  fellow,  sure  enough!  What  can  I  do 
with  him?" 

And  he  clutched  more  closely  the  great 
knife  in  his  hand,  as  if  he  were  half  a  mind  to 
slay  Jason  instead  of  the  black  bull.  The 
people  round  about  caught  up  the  king's  words 
indistinctly  as  they  were  uttered;  and  first 
there  was  a  murmur  among  them,  and  then  a 
loud  shout. 

"The  one-sandaled  man  has  come!  The 
prophecy  must  be  fulfilled!" 

For  you  are  to  know  that,  many  years  before, 
King  Pelias  had  been  told  by  the  Speaking 
Oak  of  Dodona,  that  a  man  with  one  sandal 
should  cast  him  down  from  his  throne.  On 
this  account  he  had  given  strict  orders  that 
nobody  should  ever  come  into  his  presence, 
unless  both  sandals  were  securely  tied  upon-  his 
feet;  and  he  kept  an  officer  in  his  palace, 


262  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

whose  sole  business  it  was  to  examine  people's 
sandals,  and  to  supply  them  with  a  new  pair  at 
the  expense  of  the  royal  treasury,  as  soon  as 
the  old  ones  began  to  wear  out.  In  the  whole 
course  of  the  king's  reign,  he  had  never  been 
thrown  into  such  a  fright  and  agitation  as  by 
the  spectacle  of  poor  Jason's  bare  foot.  But, 
as  he  was  naturally  a  bold  and  hard-hearted 
man,  he  soon  took  courage  and  began  to  con 
sider  in  what  way  he  might  rid  himself  of  this 
terrible  one-sandaled  stranger. 

"My  good  young  man,"  said  King  Pelias, 
taking  the  softest  tone  imaginable,  in  order  to 
throw  Jason  off  his  guard,  "you  are  excessively 
welcome  to  my  kingdom.  Judging  by  your 
dress,  you  must  have  traveled  a  long  distance ; 
for  it  is  not  the  fashion  to  wear  leopard-skins 
in  this  part  of  the  world.  Pray  what  may  I 
call  your  name?  and  where  did  you  receive 
your  education?" 

"My  name  is  Jason,"  answered  the  young 
stranger.  "Ever  since  my  infancy  I  have 
dwelt  in  the  cave  of  Chiron  the  Centaur.  He 
was  my  instructor,  and  taught  me  music,  and 
horsemanship,  and  how  to  cure  wounds,  and 
likewise  how  to  inflict  wounds  with  my  weap 
ons!" 

"I  have  heard  of  Chiron  the  schoolmaster," 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  263 

replied  King  Pelias,  "and  how  that  there  is 
an  immense  deal  of  learning  and  wisdom  in  his 
head,  althought  it  happens  to  be  set  on  a 
horse's  body.  It  gives  me  great  delight  to  see 
one  of  his  scholars  at  my  court.  But,  to  test 
hew  much  you  have  profited  under  so  excellent 
a  teacher,  will  you  allow  me  to  ask  you  a  single 
question?'* 

" I  do  not  pretend  to  be  very  wise,"  said 
Jason.  "But  ask  me  what  you  please,  and  I 
will  answer  to  the  best  of  my  ability." 

Now  King  Pelias  meant  cunningly  to  entrap 
the  young  man,  and  to  make  him  say  some 
thing  that  should  be  the  cause  of  mischief  and 
destruction  to  himself.  So  with  a  crafty  and 
evil  smile  upon  his  face,  he  spoke  as  follows: 

"What  would  you  do,  brave  Jason,"  asked 
he,  "if  there  were  a  man  in  the  world,  by 
whom,  as  you  had  reason  to  believe,  you  were 
doomed  to  be  ruined  and  slain — what  would 
you  do,  I  say,  if  that  man  stood  before  you,  and 
in  your  power?" 

When  Jason  saw  the  malice  and  wickedness 
which  King  Pelias  could  not  prevent  from 
gleaming  out  of  his  eyes,  he  probably  guessed 
that  the  king  had  discovered  what  he  came  for, 
and  that  he  intended  to  turn  his  own  words 
against  himself.  Still  he  scorned  to  tell  a  false- 


264  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

hood.  Like  an  upright  and  honorable  prince, 
as  he  was,  h©  determined  to  speak  out  the  real 
truth.  Since  the  king  had  chosen  to  ask  him 
the  question,  and  since  Jason  had  promised 
him  an  answer,  there  was  no  right  way,  save 
to  tell  him  precisely  what  would  he  the  most 
prudent  thing  to  do,  if  he  had  his  worst  enemy 
in  his  power. 

Therefore,  after  a  moment's  consideration, 
he  spoke  up,  with  a  firm  and  manly  voice. 

"I  would  send  such  a  man,"  said  he,  "in 
quest  of  the  Golden  Fleece!" 

This  enterprise,  you  will  understand,  was,  of 
all  others,  the  most  difficult  and  dangerous  in 
the  world.  In  the  first  place,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  make  a  long  voyage  through 
unknown  seas.  There  was  hardly  a  hope,  or 
a  possibility,  that  any  young  man  who  should 
undertake  this  voyage  would  either  succeed  in 
obtaining  the  Golden  Fleece,  or  would  survive 
to  return  home,  and  tell  of  the  perils  he  had 
run.  The  eyes  of  King  Pelias  sparkled  with 
joy,  therefore,  when  he  heard  Jason's  reply. 

"Well  said,  wise  man  with  one  sandal !"  cried 
he.  "Go,  then,  and,  at  the  peril  of  your  life, 
bring  me  back  the  Golden  Fleece." 

"I  go,"  answered  Jason,  composedly.  "If  I 
fail,  you  need  not  fear  that  I  will  ever  come 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  265 

back  to  trouble  you  again.  But  if  I  return  to 
lolchos  with  the  prize,  then,  King  Pelias,  you 
must  hasten  down  from  your  lofty  throne,  and 
give  me  your  crown  and  sceptre. ' ' 

4  *  That  I  will,"  said  the  King,  with  a  sneer. 
44  Mean  time,  I  will  keep  them  very  safely  for 
you. ' ' 

The  first  thing  that  Jason  thought  of  doing, 
after  he  left  the  king's  presence,  was  to  go  to 
Dodona,  and  inquire  of  the  Talking  Oak  what 
course  it  was  best  to  pursue.  This  wonderful 
tree  stood  in  the  center  of  an  ancient  wood. 
Its  stately  trunk  rose  up  a  hundred  feet  into 
the  air,  and  threw  a  broad  and  dense  shadow 
over  more  than  an  acre  of  ground.  Standing 
beneath  it,  Jason  looked  up  among  the  knotted 
branches  and  green  leaves,  and  into  the  mys 
terious  heart  of  the  old  tree,  and  spoke  aloud, 
as  if  he  were  addressing  some  person  who  was 
hidden  in  the  depths  of  the  foliage. 

"What  shall  I  do,"  said  he,  44in  order  to  win 
the  Golden  Fleece?" 

At  first  there  was  a  deep  silence,  not  only 
within  the  shadow  of  the  Talking  Oak,  but  all 
through  the  solitary  wood.  In  a  moment  or 
two,  however,  the  leaves  of  the  oak  began  to 
stir  and  rustle,  as  if  a  gentle  breeze  were  wan 
dering  amongst  them,  although  the  other  trees 


2G6  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

of  the  wood  were  perfectly  still.  The  sound 
grew  louder,  and  became  like  the  roar  of  a 
high  wind.  By  and  by,  Jason  imagined  that 
he  could  distinguish  words,  but  very  con 
fusedly,  because  each  separate  leaf  of  the  tree 
seemed  to  be  a  tongue,  and  the  whole  myriad 
of  tongues  were  babbling  at  once.  But  the 
noise  waxed  broader  and  deeper,  until  it 
resembled  a  tornado  sweeping  through  the  oak? 
and  making  one  great  utterance  out  of  the 
thousand  and  thousand  of  little  murmurs  which 
each  leafy  tongue  had  caused  by  its  rustling. 
And  now,  though  it  still  had  the  tone  of  a 
mighty  wind  roaring  among  the  branches,  it 
was  also  like  a  deep  bass  voice,  speaking,  as 
distinctly  as  a  tree  could  be  expected  to  speak, 
the  following  words: 

"Go  to  Argus,  the  ship-builder,  and  bid  him 
build  a  galley  with  fifty  oars." 

Then  the  voice  melted  again  into  the  indistinct 
murmur  of  the  rustling  leaves,  and  died  grad 
ually  away.  When  it  was  quite  gone,  Jason 
felt  inclined  to  doubt  whether  he  had  actually 
heard  the  words,  or  whether  his  fancy  had  not 
shaped  them  out  of  the  ordinary  sound  made 
by  the  breeze,  while  passing  through  the  thick 
foliage  of  the  tree. 

But  on  inquiry  among  the  people  of  lolchos, 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  267 

he  found  that  there  was  really  a  man  in  the 
city,  by  the  name  of  Argus,  who  was  a  very 
skillful  builder  of  vessels.  This  showed  some 
intelligence  in  the  oak;  else  how  should  it 
have  known  that  any  such  person  existed? 
At  Jason's  request,  Argus  readily  consented  to 
build  him  a  galley  so  big  that  it  should  require 
fifty  strong  men  to  row  it ;  although  no  vessel 
of  such  a  size  and  burden  had  heretofore  been 
seen  in  the  world.  So  the  head  carpenter,  and 
all  his  journeymen  and  apprentices,  began 
their  work ;  and  for  a  good  while  afterward, 
there  they  were,  busily  employed,  hewing  out 
the  timbers,  and  making  a  great  clatter  with 
their  hammers;  until  the  new  ship  which  was 
called  the  Argo,  seemed  to  be  quite  ready  for  sea. 
And,  as  the  Talking  Oak  had  already  given 
him  such  good  advice,  Jason  thought  that  it 
would  not  be  amiss  to  ask  for  a  little  more. 
He  visited  it  again,  therefore,  and  standing 
beside  its  huge,  rough  trunk,  inquired  what  he 
should  do  next. 

This  time,  there  was  no  such  universal 
quivering  of  the  leaves,  throughout  the 
whole  tree,  as  there  had  been  before.  But 
after  a  while,  Jason  observed  that  the  foliage 
of  a  great  branch  which  stretched  above  his 
head  had  begun  to  rustle,  as  if  the  wind  were 


268  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

stirring  that  one  bough,  while  all  the  other 
boughs  of  the  oak  were  at  rest. 

4 'Cut  me  off!"  said  the  branch,  as  soon  as  it 
could  speak  distinctly — "cut  me  off!  cut  me 
off!  and  carve  me  into  a  figure-head  for  your 
galley." 

Accordingly,  Jason  took  the  branch  at  its 
word,  and  lopped  it  off  the  tree.  A  carver  in 
the  neighborhood  engaged  to  make  the  figure 
head.  He  was  a  tolerably  good  workman,  and 
had  already  carved  several  figure-heads,  in 
what  he  intended  for  feminine  shapes,  and 
looking  pretty  much  like  those  which  we  see 
nowadays  stuck  up  under  a  vessel's  bowsprit, 
with  great  staring  eyes,  that  never  wink  at 
the  dash  of  the  spray.  But  (what  was  very 
strange)  the  carver  found  that  his  hand  was 
guided  by  some  unseen  power,  and  by  a  skill 
beyond  his  own,  and  that  his  tools  shaped  out 
an  image  which  he  had  never  dreamed  of. 
When  the  work  was  finished,  it  turned  out  to 
be  the  figure  of  a  beautiful  woman  with  a  hel 
met  on  her  head,  from  beneath  which  the  long 
ringlets  fell  down  upon  her  shoulders.  On  the 
left  arm  was  a  shield,  and  in  its  center  appeared 
a  life-like  representation  of  the  head  of  Medusa 
with  the  snaky  locks.  The  right  arm  was 
extended,  as  if  pointing  onward.  The  face  of 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  269 

this  wonderful  statue,  though  not  angry  or 
forbidding,  was  so  grave  and  majestic,  that 
perhaps,  you  might  call  it  severe;  and  as  for 
the  mouth,  it  seemed  just  ready  to  unclose  its 
lips,  and  utter  words  of  the  deepest  wisdom. 

Jason  was  delighted  with  the  oaken  image, 
and  gave  the  carver  no  rest  until  it  was  com 
pleted,  and  set  up  where  a  figure-head  has 
always  stood,  from  that  time  to  this,  in  the 
vessel's  prow. 

"And  now,"  cried  he,  as  he  stood  gazing  at 
the  calm,  majestic  face  of  the  statue,  "I  must 
go  to  the  Talking  Oak,  and  inquire  what  next 
to  do." 

" There  is  no  need  of  that,  Jason,"  said  a 
voice,  which,  though  it  was  far  lower,  reminded 
him  of  the  mighty  tones  of  the  great  oak. 
41  When  you  desire  good  advice,  you  can  seek  it 
of  me.  * ' 

Jason  had  been  looking  straight  into  the  face 
of  the  image  when  these  words  were  spoken. 
But  he  could  hardly  believe  either  his  ears  or 
his  eyes.  The  truth  was,  however,  that  the 
oaken  lips  had  moved,  and,  to  all  appearance, 
the  voice  had  proceeded  from  the  statue's 
mouth.  Recovering  a  little  from  his  surprise, 
Jason  bethought  himself  that  the  image  had 
been  carved  out  of  the  wood  of  the  Talking 


270  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

Oak,  and  that,  therefore,  it  was  really  no  great 
wonder,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  most  natural 
thing  in  the  world,  that  it  should  possess  the 
faculty  of  speech.  It  would  have  been  very 
odd,  indeed,  if  it  had  not.  But  certainly  it  was 
a  great  piece  of  good  fortune  that  he  should  be 
able  to  carry  so  wise  a  block  of  wood  along  with 
him  in  his  perilous  voyage. 

44 Tell  me,  wondrous  image,"  exclaimed 
Jason — '* since  you  inherit  the  wisdom  of  the 
Speaking  Oak  of  Dodona,  whose  daughter  you 
are — tell  me  where  shall  I  find  fifty  bold 
youths,  who  will  take  each  of  them  an  oar  of 
my  galley?  They  must  have  sturdy  arms  to 
row,  and  brave  hearts  to  encounter  perils,  or 
we  shall  never  win  the  Golden  Fleece. ' ' 

44 Go, "  replied  the  oaken  image — "go,  sum 
mon  all  the  heroes  of  Greece." 

And,  in  fact,  considering  what  a  great  deed 
was  to  be  done,  could  any  advice  be  wiser  than 
this  which  Jason  received  from  the  figure-head 
of  his  vessel?  He  lost  no  time  in  sending  mes 
sengers  to  all  the  cities,  and  making  known  to 
the  whole  people  of  Greece,  that  Prince  Jason, 
the  son  of  King  ^Eson,  was  going  in  quest  of 
the  Fleece  of  Gold,  and  that  he  desired  the  help 
of  forty-nine  of  the  bravest  and  strongest 
young  men  alive,  to  row  his  vessel  and  share 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  271 

his  dangers.  And  Jason  himself  would  be  the 
fiftieth. 

At  this  news,  the  adventurous  youths,  all 
over  the  country,  began  to  bestir  themselves. 
Seme  of  them  had  already  fought  with  giants, 
and  slain  dragons ;  and  the  younger  ones,  who 
had  not  yet  met  with  such  good  fortune, 
thought  it  a  shame  to  have  lived  so  long  with 
out  getting  astride  of  a  flying  serpent,  or  stick 
ing  their  spears  into  a  Chimsera,  or,  at  least, 
thrusting  their  right  arms  down  a  monstrous 
lion's  throat.  There  was  a  fair  prospect  that 
they  would  meet  with  plenty  of  such  adven 
tures  before  finding  the  Golden  Fleece.  As 
soon  as  they  could  furbish  up  their  helmets  and 
shields,  therefore,  and  gird  on  their  trusty 
swords,  they  came  thronging  to  lolchos,  and 
clambered  on  board  the  new  galley.  Shaking 
hands  with  Jason,  they  assured  him  that  they 
did  not  care  a  pin  for  their  lives,  but  would 
help  row  the  vessel  to  the  remotest  edge  of  the 
world,  and  as  much  farther  as  he  might  think 
it  best  to  go. 

Many  of  these  brave  fellows  had  been  edu 
cated  by  Chiron,  the  four-footed  pedagogue, 
and  were  therefore  old  schoolmates  of  Jason, 
and  knew  him  to  be  a  lad  of  spirit.  The 
mighty  Hercules,  whose  shoulders  afterward 


272  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

held  up  the  sky,  was  one  of  them.  And  there 
were  Castor  and  Pollux,  the  twin  brothers, 
who  were  never  accused  of  being  chicken- 
hearted,  although  they  had  been  hatched  out 
of  an  egg ;  and  Theseus,  who  was  so  renewed 
for  killing  the  Minotaur;  and  Lynceus,  with 
his  wonderfully  sharp  eyes,  which  could  see 
through  a  millstone,  or  look  right  down  into 
the  depths  of  the  earth,  and  discover  the  treas 
ures  that  were  there ;  and  Orpheus,  the  very 
best  of  harpers,  who  sang  and  played  upon  his 
lyre  so  sweetly,  that  the  brute  beasts  stood 
upon  their  hind  legs  and  capered  merrily  to 
the  music.  Yes,  and  at  some  of  his  more 
moving  tunes,  the  rocks  bestirred  their  moss- 
grown  bulk  out  of  the  ground,  and  a  grove  of 
forest  trees  uprooted  themselves,  and  nodding 
their  tops  to  one  another,  performed  a  country 
dance. 

One  of  the  rowers  was  a  beautiful  young 
woman,  named  Atalanta,  who  had  been  nursed 
among  the  mountains,  by  a  bear.  So  light  of 
foot  was  this  fair  damsel  that  she  could  step 
from  one  foamy  crest  of  a  wave  to  the  foamy 
crest  of  another,  without  wetting  more  than 
the  sole  of  her  sandal.  She  had  grown  up  in  a 
very  wild  way,  and  talked  much  about  the 
rights  of  women,  and  loved  hunting  and  war 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  273 

far  better  than  her  needle.  But,  in  my  opin 
ion,  the  most  remarkable  of  this  famous  com 
pany  were  two  sons  of  the  North  Wind  (airy 
youngsters,  and  of  rather  a  blustering  disposi 
tion),  who  had  wings  on  their  shoulders,  and, 
in  case  of  a  calm,  could  puff  out  their  cheeks, 
and  blow  almost  as  fresh  a  breeze  as  their 
father.  I  ought  not  to  forget  the  prophets 
and  conjurers,  of  whom  there  were  several 
in  the  crew,  and  who  could  foretell  what  would 
happen  to-morrow,  or  the  next  day,  or  a  hun 
dred  years  hence,  but  were  generally  quite 
unconscious  of  what  was  passing  at  the 
moment. 

Jason  appointed  Tiphys  to  be  helmsman, 
because  he  was  a  star-gazer,  and  knew  the 
points  of  the  compass.  Lynceus,  on  account 
of  his  sharp  sight,  was  stationed  as  a  lookout  in 
the  prow,  where  he  saw  a  whole  day's  sail 
ahead,  but  was  rather  apt  to  overlook  things 
that  lay  directly  under  his  nose.  If  the  sea 
happened  to  be  deep  enough,  however,  Lyn 
ceus  could  tell  you  exactly  what  kind  of  rocks 
or  sands  were  at  the  bottom  of  it;  and  he 
often  cried  out  to  his  companions  that  they 
were  sailing  over  heaps  of  sunken  treasure, 
which  yet  he  was  none  the  richer  for  behold- 

18    Tanglewood  Tales 


274  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

ing.  To  confess  the  truth,  few  people  believed 
him  when  he  said  it. 

Well !  But  when  the  Argonauts,  as  these  fifty 
brave  adventurers  were  called,  had  prepared 
everthing  for  the  voyage,  an  unforeseen  diffi 
culty  threatened  to  end  it  before  it  was  begun. 
The  vessel,  you  must  understand,  was  so  long, 
and  broad,  and  ponderous  that  the  united  force 
of  all  the  fifty  was  insufficient  to  shove  her  into 
the  water.  Hercules,  I  suppose,  had  not 
grown  to  his  full  strength,  else  he  might  have 
set  her  afloat  as  easily  as  a  little  boy  launches 
his  boat  upon  the  puddle.  But  here  were 
these  fifty  heroes  pushing,  and  straining,  and 
growing  red  in  the  face,  without  making  the 
Argo  start  an  inch.  At  last,  quite  wearied  out, 
they  sat  themselves  down  on  the  shore,  exceed 
ingly  disconsolate,  and  thinking  that  the  vessel 
must  be  left  to  rot  and  fall  to  pieces,  and  that 
they  must  either  swim  across  the  sea  or  lose 
the  Golden  Fleece. 

All  at  once  Jason  bethought  himself  of  the 
galley's  miraculous  figure-head. 

"O  daughter  of  the  Talking  Oak/'  cried  he, 
4 'how  shall  we  set  to  work  to  get  our  vessel 
into  the  water?'* 

"Seat  yourselves,"  answered  the  image  (for 
it  had  known  what  ought  to  be  done  from  the 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  275 

very  first,  and  was  only  waiting  for  the  ques 
tion  to  be  put) — "seat  yourselves,  and  handle 
your  oars,  and  let  Orpheus  play  upon  his 
harp. " 

Immediately  the  fifty  heroes  got  on  board, 
and  seizing  their  oars,  held  them  perpendicu 
larly  in  the  air,  while  Orpheus  (who  liked  such 
a  task  far  better  than  rowing)  swept  his  fingers 
across  the  harp.  At  the  first  ringing  note  of 
the  music,  they  felt  the  vessel  stir.  Orpheus 
thrummed  away  briskly,  and  the  galley  slid  at 
once  into  the  sea,  dipping  her  prow  so  deeply 
that  the  figure-head  drank  the  waves  with  its 
marvelous  lips,  and  rose  again  as  buoyant  as  a 
swan.  The  rowers  plied  their  fifty  oars;  the 
white  foam  boiled  up  before  the  prow;  the 
water  gurgled  and  bubbled  in  their  wake; 
while  Orpheus  continued  to  play  so  lively  a 
strain  of  music  that  the  vessel  seemed  to  dance 
over  the  billows  by  way  of  keeping  time  to  it. 
Thus  triumphantly  did  the  Argo  sail  out  of  the 
harbor,  amidst  the  huzzas  and  good  wishes  of 
everybody  except  the  wicked  old  Pelias,  who 
stood  on  a  promontory,  scowling  at  her,  and 
wishing  that  he  could  blow  out  of  his  lungs  the 
tempest  of  wrath  that  was  in  his  heart,  and  so 
sink  the  galley  with  all  on  board.  When  they 
had  sailed  above  fifty  miles  over  the  sea,  Lyn- 


276  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

ecus  happened  to  cast  his  sharp  eyes  behind, 
and  said  that  there  was  this  bad-hearted  king, 
still  perched  upon  the  promontory,  and  scowl 
ing  so  gloomily  that  it  looked  like  a  black  thun 
der-cloud  in  that  quarter  of  the  horizon. 

In  order  to  make  the  time  pass  away  more 
pleasantly  during  the  voyage,  the  heroes  talked 
about  the  Golden  Fleece.  It  originally  be 
longed,  it  appears,  to  a  Boeotian  ram,  who  had 
taken  on  his  back  two  children,  when  in  dan 
ger  of  their  lives,  and  fled  with  them  over  land 
and  sea,  as  far  as  Colchis.  One  of  the  chil 
dren,  whose  name  was  Helle,  fell  into  the  sea 
and  was  drowned.  But  the  other  (a  little  boy, 
named  Phrixus)  was  brought  safe  ashore  by 
the  faithful  ram,  who,  however,  was  so  ex 
hausted  that  he  immediately  lay  down  and 
died.  In  memory  of  this  good  deed,  and  as  a 
token  of  his  true  heart,  the  fleece  of  the  poor 
dead  ram  was  miraculously  changed  to  gold, 
and  became  one  of  the  most  beautiful  objects 
ever  seen  on  earth.  It  was  hung  upon  a  tree 
in  a  sacred  grove,  where  it  had  now  been  kept 
I  know  not  how  many  years,  and  was  the  envy 
of  mighty  kings,  who  had  nothing  so  magnifi 
cent  in  any  of  their  palaces. 

If  I  were  to  tell  you  all  the  adventures  of  the 
Argonauts,  it  would  take  me  till  nightfall,  and 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  277 

perhaps  a  great  deal  longer.  There  was  no 
lack  of  wonderful  events,  as  you  may  judge 
from  what  you  may  have  already  heard.  At  a 
certain  island  they  were  hospitably  received  by 
King  Cyzicus,  its  sovereign,  who  made  a  feast 
for  them,  and  treated  them  like  brothers.  But 
the  Argonauts  saw  that  this  good  king  looked 
downcast  and  very  much  troubled,  and  they 
therefore  inquired  of  him  what  was  the  matter. 
King  Cyzicus  hereupon  informed  them  that  he 
and  his  subjects  were  greatly  abused  and 
incommoded  by  the  inhabitants  of  a  neighbor 
ing  mountain,  who  made  war  upon  them,  and 
killed  many  people,  and  ravaged  the  country. 
And  while  they  were  talking  about  it,  Cyzicus 
pointed  to  the  mountain,  and  asked  Jason  and 
his  companions  what  they  saw  there. 

"I  see  some  very  tall  objects,"  answered 
Jason,  "but  they  are  at  such  a  distance  that  I 
cannot  distinctly  make  out  what  they  are.  To 
tell  your  Majesty  the  truth,  they  look  so  very 
strangely  that  I  am  inclined  to  think  them 
clouds,  which  have  chanced  to  take  something 
like  human  shapes." 

"I  see  them  very  plainly, "  remarked  Lyn- 
cetis,  whose  eyes,  you  know,  were  as  far-sighted 
as  a  telescope.  "They  are  a  band  of  enormous 
giants,  all  of  whom  have  six  arms  apiece,  and 


278  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

a  club,  a  sword,  or  some  other  weapon  in  each 
of  their  hands. " 

"You  have  excellent  eyes,"  said  King 
Cyzicus.  "Yes;  they  are  six-armed  giants,  as 
you  say,  and  these  are  the  enemies  whom  I  and 
my  subjects  have  to  contend  with." 

The  next  day,  when  the  Argonaut  were  about 
setting  sail,  down  came  these  terrible  giants, 
stepping  a  hundred  yards  at  a  stride,  brandish 
ing  their  six  arms  apiece,  and  looking  very 
formidable,  so  far  aloft  in  the  air.  Each  of 
these  monsters  was  able  to  carry  on  a  whole 
war  by  himself,  for  with  one  of  his  arms  he 
could  fling  immense  stones,  and  wield  a  club 
with  another,  and  a  sword  with  a  third,  while 
the  fourth  was  poking  a  long  spear  at  the 
enemy,  and  the  fifth  and  sixth  were  shooting 
him  with  a  bow  and  arrow.  But,  luckily, 
though  the  giants  were  so  huge,  and  had  so 
many  arms,  they  had  each  but  one  heart,  and 
that  no  bigger  nor  braver  than  the  heart  of  an 
ordinary  man.  Besides,  if  they  had  been  like 
the  hundred-armed  Briareus,  the  brave  Argo 
nauts  would  have  given  them  their  hands  full 
of  fight.  Jason  and  his  friends  went  boldly  to 
meet  them,  slew  a  great  many,  and  made  the 
rest  take  to  their  heels,  so  that,  if  the  giants 
had  had  six  legs  apiece  instead  of  six  arms,  it 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  279 

would  have  served  them  better  to  run  away 
with. 

Another  strange  adventure  happened  when 
the  voyagers  came  to  Thrace,  where  they  found 
a  poor  blind  king,  named  Phineus,  deserted 
by  his  subjects,  and  living  in  a  very  sorrowful 
way,  all  by  himself.  On  Jason's  inquiring 
whether  they  could  do  him  any  service,  the 
king  answered  that  he  was  terribly  tormented 
by  three  great  winged  creatures,  called  Harp 
ies,  which  had  the  faces  of  women,  and  the 
wings,  bodies,  and  claws  of  vultures.  These 
ugly  wretches  were  in  the  habit  of  snatching 
away  his  dinner,  and  allowing  him  no  peace  of 
his  life.  Upon  hearing  this,  the  Argonauts 
sp)  ead  a  plentiful  feast  on  the  sea-shore,  well 
knowing,  from  what  the  blind  king  said  of 
th-^ir  greediness,  that  the  Harpies  would  snuff 
up  the  scent  of  the  victuals,  and  quickly  come 
to  steal  them  away.  And  so  it  turned  out ; 
for,  hardly  was  the  table  set,  before  the  three 
hideous  vulture  women  came  flapping  their 
wings,  seized  the  food  in  their  talons,  and  flew 
off  as  fast  as  they  could.  But  the  two  sons  of 
the  North  Wind  drew  their  swords,  spread  their 
pinions,  and  set  off  through  the  air  in  pursuit 
of  the  thieves,  whom  they  at  last  overtook 
among  some  islands,  after  a  chase  of  hundreds 


280  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

of  miles.  The  two  winged  youths  blustered 
terribly  at  the  Harpies  (for  they  had  the  rough 
temper  of  their  father),  and  so  frightened  them 
with  their  drawn  swords,  that  they  solemnly 
promised  never  to  trouble  King  Phineus  again. 
Then  the  Argonauts  sailed  onward,  and  met 
with  many  other  marvelous  Incidents,  any  one 
of  which  would  make  a  story  by  itself.  At 
one  time,  they  landed  on  an  island,  and  were 
reposing  on  the  grass,  when  they  suddenly 
found  themselves  assailed  by  what  seemed  a 
shower  of  steel-headed  arrows.  Some  of  them 
stuck  in  the  ground,  while  others  hit  against 
their  shields,  and  several  penetrated  their 
flesh.  The  fifty  heroes  started  up,  and  looked 
about  them  for  the  hidden  enemy,  but  could 
find  none,  nor  see  any  spot,  on  the  whole 
island,  where  even  a  single  archer  could  lie  con 
cealed.  Still,  however,  the  steel-headed  arrows 
came  whizzing  among  them ;  and,  at  last,  hap 
pening  to  look  upward,  they  beheld  a  large 
flock  of  birds,  hovering  and  wheeling  aloft, 
and  shooting  their  feathers  down  upon  the 
Argonauts.  These  feathers  were  the  steel- 
headed  arrows  that  had  so  tormented  them. 
There  was  no  possibility  of  making  any  resist 
ance;  and  the  fifty  heroic  Argonauts  might  all 
have  been  killed  or  wounded  by  a  flock  of 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  281 

troublesome  birds,  without  ever  setting  eyes  on 
the  Golden  Fleece,  if  Jason  had  not  thought  of 
asking  the  advice  of  the  oaken  image. 

So  he  ran  to  the  galley  as  fast  as  his  legs 
wculd  carry  him. 

"O  daughter  of  the  Speaking  Oak/'  cried 
he,  all  out  of  breath,  "we  need  your  wisdom 
more  than  ever  before !  We  are  in  great  peril 
from  a  flock  of  birds,  who  are  shooting  us  with 
their  steel-pointed  feathers.  What  can  we  do 
to  drive  them  away?" 

"Make  a  clatter  on  your  shields,"  said  the 
image. 

On  receiving  this  excellent  counsel,  Jason 
hurried  back  to  his  companions  (who  were  far 
more  dismayed  than  when  they  fought  with  the 
six-armed  giants),  and  bade  them  strike  with 
their  swords  upon  their  brazen  shields.  Forth 
with  the  fifty  heroes  set  heartily  to  work,  bang 
ing  with  might  and  main,  and  raised  such  a  ter 
rible  clatter  that  the  birds  made  what  haste 
they  could  to  get  away;  and  though  they  had 
shot  half  the  feathers  out  of  their  wings,  they 
were  soon  seen  skimming  among  the  clouds,  a 
long  distance  off,  and  looking  like  a  flock  of 
wild  geese.  Orpheus  celebrated  this  victory 
by  playing  a  triumphant  anthem  on  his  harp, 
and  sang  so  melodiously  that  Jason  begged 


282  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

him  to  desist,  lest,  as  the  steel -feathered  birds 
had  been  driven  away  by  an  ugly  sound,  they 
might  be  enticed  back  again  by  a  sweet  one. 

While  the  Argonauts  remained  on  this  island, 
they  saw  a  small  vessel  approaching  the  shore, 
in  which  were  two  young  men  of  princely 
demeanor,  and  exceedingly  handsome,  as 
young  princes  generally  were  in  those  days. 
Now,  who  do  you  imagine  these  two  voyagers 
turned  out  to  be?  Why,  if  you  will  believe  me, 
they  were  the  sons  of  that  very  Phrixus,  who, 
in  his  childhood,  had  been  carried  to  Colchis 
on  the  back  of  the  golden-fleeced  ram.  Since 
that  time,  Phrixus  had  married  the  king's 
daughter;  and  the  two  young  princes  had  been 
born  and  brought  up  at  Colchis,  and  had  spent 
their  play-days  in  the  outskirts  of  the  grove, 
in  the  center  of  which  the  Golden  Fleece  was 
hanging  upon  a  tree.  They  were  now  on  their 
way  to  Greece,  in  hopes  of  getting  back  a  king 
dom  that  had  been  wrongfully  taken  from 
their  father. 

When  the  princes  understood  whither  the 
Argonauts  were  going,  they  offered  to  turn 
back  and  guide  them  to  Colchis.  At  the  same 
time,  however,  they  spoke  as  if  it  were  very 
doubtful  whether  Jason  would  succeed  in  get 
ting  the  Golden  Fleece.  According  to  their 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  283 

account,  the  tree  on  which  it  hung  was  guarded 
bya  terrible  dragon,  who  never  failed  to  devour, 
at  one  mouthful,  every  person  who  might  ven 
ture  within  his  reach. 

44 There  are  other  difficulties  in  the  way," 
continued  the  young  princes.  "But  is^  not 
this  enough?  Ah,  brave  Jason,  turn  back  be 
fore  it  is  too  late.  It  would  grieve  us  to  the 
heart,  if  you  and  your  nine-and-forty  brave 
companions  should  be  eaten  up,  at  fifty  mouth- 
fuls,  by  this  execrable  dragon." 

4 'My  young  friends,"  quietly  replied  Jason, 
44 1  do  not  wonder  that  you  think  the  dragon 
very  terrible.  You  have  grown  up  from 
infancy  in  the  fear  of  this  monster,  and  there 
fore  still  regard  him  with  the  awe  that  children 
feel  for  the  bugbears  and  hobgoblins  which 
their  nurses  have  talked  to  them  about.  But 
in  my  view  of  the  matter,  the  dragon  is 
merely  a  pretty  large  serpent,  who  is  not  half 
so  likely  to  snap  me  up  at  one  mouthful  as  I 
am  to  cut  off  his  ugly  head,  and  strip  the  skin 
from  his  body.  At  all  events,  turn  back  who 
may,  I  will  never  see  Greece  again  unless  I 
carry  with  me  the  Golden  Fleece." 

"We  will  none  of  us  turn  back!"  cried  his 
nine-and-forty  brave  comrades.  "Let  us  get 
on  board  the  galley  this  instant ;  and  if  the 


284  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

dragon  is  to  make  a  breakfast  of  us,  much 
good  may  it  do  him. ' ' 

And  Orpheus  (whose  custom  it  was  to  set 
everything  to  music)  began  to  harp  and  sing 
most  gloriously,  and  made  every  mother's  son 
of  tfyem  feel  as  if  nothing  in  this  world  were 
so  delectable  as  to  fight  dragons,  and  nothing 
so  truly  honorable  as  to  be  eaten  up  at  one 
mouthful,  in  case  of  the  worst. 

After  this  (being  now  under  the  guidance 
of  the  two  princes,  who  were  well  acquainted 
with  the  way),  they  quickly  sailed  to  Colchis. 
When  the  king  of  the  country,  whose  name 
was  ^tes,  heard  of  their  arrival,  he  instantly 
summoned  Jason  to  court.  The  king  was  a 
stern  and  cruel-looking  potentate ;  and  though 
he  put  on  as  polite  and  hospitable  an  expres 
sion  as  he  could,  Jason  did  not  like  his  face  a 
whit  better  than  that  of  the  wicked  King 
Pelias,  who  dethroned  his  father 

"You  are  welcome,  brave  Jason,"  said  King 
"Pray,  are  you  on  a  pleasure  voyage? 
do  you  meditate  the  discovery  of  unknown 
islands?— or  what  other  cause  has  procured 
me  the  happiness  of  seeing  you  at  my  court?" 

"Great  sir,"  replied  Jason,  with  an  obeis 
ance, — for  Chiron  had  taught  him  how  to  be 
have  with  propriety,  whether  to  kings  or  beg- 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  285 

gars, — "I  have  come  hither  with  a  purpose 
which  I  now  beg  your  Majesty's  permission  to 
execute.  King  Pelias,  who  sits  on  my  father's 
throne  (to  which  he  has  no  more  right  than  to 
the  one  on  which  your  excellent  Majesty  is 
now  seated),  has  engaged  to  come  down  from 
it,  and  to  give  me  his  crown  and  scepter,  pro 
vided  I  bring  him  the  Golden  Fleece.  This, 
as  your  Majesty  is  aware,  is  now  hanging  on  a 
tree  here  at  Colchis;  and  I  humbly  solicit  your 
gracious  leave  to  take  it  away. ' ' 

In  spite  of  himself,  the  king's  face  twisted 
itself  into  an  angry  frown ;  for,  above  all  things 
else  in  the  world,  he  prized  the  Golden  Fleece, 
and  was  even  suspected  of  having  done  a  very 
wicked  act,  in  order  to  get  it  into  his  own  pos 
session.  It  put  him  into  the  worst  possible 
humor,  therefore,  to  hear  that  the  gallant 
Prince  Jason,  and  forty-nine  of  the  bravest 
young  warriors  of  Greece,  had  come  to  Colchis 
with  the  sole  purpose  of  taking  away  his  chief 
treasure. 

44 Do  you  know,"  asked  King  ^Etes,  eyeing 
Jason  very  sternly,  44what  are  the  conditions 
which  you  must  fulfill  before  getting  posses 
sion  of  the  Golden  Fleece?" 

44 1  have  heard,"  rejoined  the  youth,  "that  a 
dragon  lies  beneath  the  tree  on  which  the 


286  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

prize  hangs,  and  that  whoever  approaches  him 
runs  the  risk  of  being  devoured  at  a  mouthful. " 

"True,"  said  the  king,  with  a  smile  that  did 
not  look  particularly  good-natured.  "Very 
true,  young  man.  But  there  are  other  things 
as  hard,  or  perhaps  a  little  harder,  to  be  done, 
before  you  can  ever  have  the  privilege  of  being 
devoured  by  the  dragon.  For  example,  you 
must  first  tame  my  two  brazen-footed  and 
brazen-lunged  bulls,  which  Vulcan,  the  won 
derful  blacksmith,  made  for  me.  There  is  a 
furnace  in  each  of  their  stomachs;  and  they 
breathe  such  hot  fire  out  of  their  mouths  and 
nostrils,  that  nobody  has  hitherto  gone  nigh 
them  without  being  instantly  burned  to  a 
small,  black  cinder.  What  do  you  think  of 
this,  my  brave  Jason?" 

"I  must  encounter  the  peril,"  answered 
Jason,  composedly,  "since  it  stands  in  the  way 
of  my  purpose." 

"After  taming  the  fiery  bulls,"  continued 
King  ^Etes,  who  was  determined  to  scare  Jason 
if  possible,  "you  must  yoke  them  to  a  plough, 
and  must  plough  the  sacred  earth  in  the  grove 
of  Mars,  and  sow  some  of  the  same  dragon's 
teeth  from  which  Cadmus  raised  a  crop  of 
armed  men.  They  are  an  unruly  set  of  repro 
bates,  those  sons  of  the  dragon's  teeth;  and 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  287 

unless  you  treat  them  suitably,  they  will  fall 
upon  you  sword  in  hand.  You  and  your  nine- 
and-forty  Argonauts,  my  bold  Jason,  are 
hardly  numerous  or  strong  enough  to  fight  with 
such  a  host  as  will  spring  up." 

4 'My  master  Chiron,"  replied  Jason,  44 taught 
me,  long  ago,  the  story  of  Cadmus.  Perhaps 
I  can  manage  the  quarrelsome  sons  of  the 
dragon's  teeth  as  will  as  Cadmus  did." 

44 1  wish  the  dragon  had  him,"  muttered 
King  /Etes  to  himself,  "and  the  four-footed 
pedant,  his  schoolmaster,  into  the  bargain. 
Why,  what  a  fool-hardy,  self-conceited  cox 
comb  he  is!  We'll  see  what  my  fire-breathing 
bulls  will  do  for  him.  Well,  Prince  Jason," 
he  continued,  aloud,  and  as  complaisantly  as 
he  could,  "make  yourself  comfortable  for  to 
day,  and  to-morrow  morning,  since  you  insist 
upon  it,  you  shall  try  your  skill  at  the  plough. " 

While  the  king  talked  with  Jason,  a  beauti 
ful  young  woman  was  standing  behind  the 
throne.  She  fixed  her  eyes  earnestly  upon  the 
youthful  stranger,  and  listened  attentively  to 
every  word  that  was  spoken ;  and  when  Jason 
withdrew  from  the  king's  presence,  this  young 
woman  followed  him  out  of  the  room. 

44 1  am  the  king's  daughter,"  she  said  to  him, 
"and  my  name  is  Medea.  I  know  a  great 


288  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

deal  of  which  other  young  princesses  are  ignor 
ant,  and  can  do  many  things  which  they  would 
be  afraid  so  much  as  to  dream  of.  If  you  will 
trust  me,  I  can  instruct  you  how  to  tame  the 
fiery  bulls,  and  sow  the  dragon's  teeth,  and 
get  the  Golden  Fleece." 

44  Indeed,  beautiful  princess,"  answered 
Jason,  "if  you  will  do  me  this  service  I  prom 
ise  to  be  grateful  to  you  my  whole  life  long/' 

Gazing  at  Medea,  he  beheld  a  wonderful 
intelligence  in  her  face.  She  was  one  of  those 
persons  whose  eyes  are  full  of  mystery;  so 
that,  while  looking  into  them,  you  seem  to 
see  a  very  great  way,  as  into  a  deep  well,  yet 
can  never  be  certain  whether  you  see  into  the 
farthest  depths,  or  whether  there  be  not  some 
thing  else  hidden  at  the  bottom.  If  Jason  had 
been  capable  of  fearing  anything,  he  would 
have  been  afraid  of  making  this  young  prin 
cess  his  enemy;  for,  beautiful  as  she  now 
looked,  she  might,  the  very  next  instant,  be 
come  as  terrible  as  the  dragon  that  kept  watch 
over  the  Golden  Fleece. 

"Princess, "  he  exclaimed,  "you  seem  indeed 
very  wise  and  very  powerful.  But  how  can 
you  help  me  to  do  the  things  of  which  you 
speak?  Are  you  an  enchantress?" 

"Yes,  Prince  Jason,"  answered  Medea,  with 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  289 

a  smile,  "you  have  hit  upon  the  truth.  I  am 
an  enchantress.  Circe,  my  father's  sister, 
taught  me  to  be  one,  and  I  could  tell  you,  if 
I  pleased,  who  was  the  old  woman  with  the 
peacock,  the  pomegranate,  and  the  cuckoo 
staff,  whom  you  carried  over  the  river ;  and, 
likewise,  who  it  is  that  speaks  through  the  lips 
of  the  oaken  image,  that  stands  in  the  prow 
of  your  galley.  I  am  acquainted  with  some  of 
your  secrets,  you  perceive.  It  is  well  for  you 
that  I  am  favorably  inclined;  for,  otherwise, 
you  would  hardly  escape  being  snapped  up 
by  the  dragon. ' ' 

14 1  should  not  so  much  care  for  the  dragon," 
replied  Jason,  "if  I  only  knew  how  to  manage 
the  brazen-footed  and  fiery-lunged  bulls." 

"If  you  are  as  brave  as  I  think  you,  and  as 
you  have  need  to  be,"  said  Medea,  "your  own 
bold  heart  will  teach  you  that  there  is  but  one 
way  of  dealing  with  a  mad  bull.  What  it  is  I 
leave  you  to  find  out  in  the  moment  of  peril. 
As  for  the  fiery  breath  of  these  animals,  I 
have  a  charmed  ointment  here,  which  will  pre 
vent  you  from  being  burned  up,  and  cure  you 
if  you  chance  to  be  a  little  scorched." 

So  she  put  a  golden  box  into  his  hand,  and 
directed  him  how  to  apply  the  perfumed 

19    Tanglewood  Tales 


290  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

unguent  which  it  contained,  and  wher^  to  meet 
her  at  midnight. 

"Only  be  brave,"  added  she,  "and  before 
daybreak  the  brazen  bulls  shall  be  tamed." 

The  young  man  assured  her  that  his  heart 
would  not  fail  him.  He  then  rejoined  his 
comrades,  and  told  them  what  had  passed  be 
tween  the  princess  and  himself,  and  warned 
them  to  be  in  readiness  in  case  there  might  be 
need  of  their  help. 

At  the  appointed  hour  he  met  the  beautiful 
Medea  on  the  marble  steps  of  the  king's 
palace.  She  gave  him  a  basket,  in  which  were 
the  dragon's  teeth,  just  as  they  had  been  pulled 
out  of  the  monster's  jaws  by  Cadmus,  long 
ago.  Medea  then  led  Jason  down  the  palace 
steps,  and  through  the  silent  streets  of  the 
city,  and  into  the  royal  pasture-ground,  where 
the  two  brazen-footed  bulls  were  kept.  It  was 
a  starry  night,  with  a  bright  gleam  along  the 
eastern  edge  of  the  sky,  where  the  moon  was 
soon  going  to  show  herself.  After  entering 
the  pasture,  the  princess  paused  and  looked 
around. 

"There  they  are,"  said  she,  "reposing  them 
selves  and  chewing  their  fiery  cuds  in  that  far 
thest  corner  of  the  field.  It  will  be  excellent 
sport,  I  assure  you,  when  they  catch  a  glimpse 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  291 

)f  your  figure.  My  father  and  all  his  court 
delight  in  nothing  so  much  as  to  see  a  stranger 
trying  to  yoke  them,  in  order  to  come  at  the 
Golden  Fleece.  It  makes  a  holiday  in  Colchis 
v/henever  such  a  thing  happens.  For  my  part 
I  enjoy  it  immensely.  You  cannot  imagine  in 
what  a  mere  twinkling  of  an  eye  their  hot 
breath  shrivels  a  young  man  into  a  black  cin 
der. " 

44 Are  you  sure,  beautiful  Medea,"  asked 
Jason,  ''quite  sure,  that  the  unguent  in  the  gold 
box  will  prove  a  remedy  against  those  terrible 
burns?" 

4 'If  you  doubt  it,  if  you  are  in  the  least 
afraid/'  said  the  princess,  looking  him  in  the 
face  by  the  dim  starlight,  44you  had  better 
never  have  been  born  than  go  a  step  nigher  to 
the  bulls." 

But  Jason  had  set  his  heart  steadfastly  on 
getting  the  Golden  Fleece;  and  I  positively 
doubt  whether  he  would  have  gone  back  with 
out  it,  even  had  he  been  certain  of  rinding 
himself  turned  into  a  red-hot  cinder,  or  a  hand 
ful  of  white  ashes,  the  instant  he  made  a  step 
farther.  He  therefore  let  go  Medea's  hand, 
and  walked  boldly  forward  in  the  direction 
whither  she  had  pointed.  At  some  distance 
before  him  he  perceived  four  streams  of  fiery 


292  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

vapor,  regularly  appearing,  and  again  vanish 
ing,  after  dimly  lighting  up  the  surrounding 
obscurity.  These,  you  will  understand,  were 
caused  by  the  breath  of  the  brazen  bulls, 
which  was  quietly  stealing  out  of  their  four 
nostrils,  as  they  lay  chewing  their  cuds. 

At  the  first  two  or  three  steps  which  Jason 
made,  the  four  fiery  streams  appeared  to  gush 
out  somewhat  more  plentifully;  for  the  two 
brazen  bulls  had  heard  his  foot-tramp,  and 
were  lifting  up  their  hot  noses  to  sniff  the  air. 
He  went  a  little  further,  and  by  the  way  in 
which  the  red  vapor  now  spouted  forth,  he 
judged  that  the  creatures  had  got  upon  their 
feet.  Now  he  could  see  glowing  sparks  and 
vivid  jets  of  flame.  At  the  next  step,  each 
}f  the  bulls  made  the  pasture  echo  with  a  ter 
rible  roar,  while  the  burning  breath,  which 
they  thus  belched  forth,  lit  up  the  whole  field 
with  a  momentary  flash.  *  One  other  stride  did 
bold  Jason  make;  and,  suddenly,  as  a  streak 
jf  lightning,  on  came  these  fiery  animals  roar 
ing  like  thunder,  and  sending  out  sheets  of 
white  flame,  which  so  kindled  up  the  scene 
that  the  young  man  could  discern  every  object 
more  distinctly  than  by  daylight. 

Most  distinctly  of  all  he  saw  the  two  horrible 
creatures  galloping  right  down  upon  him,  their 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  293 

brazen  hoofs  rattling  and  ringing  over  the 
ground,  and  their  tails  sticking  up  stiffly  into 
the  air,  as  has  always  been  the  fashion  with 
angry  bulls.  Their  breath  scorched  the  herb 
age  before  them.  So  intensely  hot  it  was,  in 
deed,  that  it  caught  a  dry  tree,  under  which 
Jason  was  now  standing,  and  set  it  all  in  a 
light  blaze.  But  as  for  Jason  himself  (thanks 
to  Medea's  enchanted  ointment),  the  white 
flame  curled  around  his  body,  without  injuring 
him  a  jot  more  than  if  he  had  been  made  of 
asbestos. 

Greatly  encouraged  at  finding  himself  not 
yet  turned  into  a  cinder,  the  young  man 
awaited  the  attack  of  the  bulls.  Just  as  the 
brazen  brutes  fancied  themselves  sure  of  toss 
ing  him  into  the  air,  he  caught  one  of  them  by 
the  horn,  and  the  other  by  his  sere  wed- up  tail, 
and  held  them  in  a  gripe  like  that  of  an  iron 
vice — one  with  his  right  hand,  the  other  with 
his  left.  Well,  he  must  have  been  wonder 
fully  strong  in  his  arms,  to  be  sure  But  the 
secret  of  the  matter  was,  that  the  brazen  bulls 
\vere  enchanted  creatures,  and  that  Jason  had 
broken  the  spell  of  their  fiery  fierceness  by  his 
bold  way  of  handling  them.  And,  ever  since 
that  time,  it  has  been  the  favorite  method  of 
brave  men,  when  danger  assails  them,  to  do, 


294  TANGLE  WOOD  TALES. 

what  they  call  "  taking  the  bull  by  the  horns ;" 
and  to  gripe  him  by  the  tail  is  pretty  much  the 
same  thing, — that  is,  to  throw  aside  fear 
and  overcome  the  peril  by  despising  it. 

It  was  now  easy  to  yoke  the  bulls,  and  to 
harness  them  to  the  plough,  which  had  lain 
rusting  on  the  ground  for  a  great  many  years 
gone  by;  so  long  was  it  before  anybody  could 
be  found  capable  of  ploughing  that  piece  of 
land.  Jason,  I  suppose,  had  been  taught  how 
to  draw  a  furrow  by  the  good  old  Chiron,  who, 
perhaps,  used  to  allow  himself  to  be  harnessed 
to  the  plough.  At  any  rate,  our  hero  sue 
ceeded  perfectly  well  in  breaking  up  the  preen 
sward ;  and  by  the  time  that  the  moon  was  a 
quarter  of  her  journey  up  the  sky,  the 
ploughed  field  lay  before  him,  a  large  tract  of 
black  earth,  ready  to  be  sown  with  the 
dragon's  teeth.  So  Jason  scattered  them 
broadcast,  and  harrowed  them  into  the  soil 
with  a  brush-harrow,  and  took  his  stand  on 
the  edge  of  the  field,  anxious  to  see  what 
would  happen  next. 

44 Must  we  wait  long  for  harvest-time?"  he 
inquired  of  Medea,  who  was  now  standing  by 
his  side. 

"Whether  sooner  or  later  it  will  be  sure  to 
come,"  answered  the  princess.  "A  crop  of 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  295 

armed  men   never  fails  to  spring  up,  when  the 
dragon's  teeth  have  been  sown." 

The  moon  was  now  high  aloft  in  the  heavens 
and  threw  its  bright  beams  over  the  ploughed 
field,  where  as  yet  there  was  nothing  to  be 
seen.  Any  farmer,  on  viewing  it,  would  have 
said  that  Jason  must  wait  weeks  before  the 
green  blades  would  peep  from  among  the 
clods,  and  whole  months  before  the  yellow 
grain  would  be  ripened  for  the  sickle.  But 
by  and  by,  all  over  the  field,  there  was  some 
thing  that  glistened  in  the  moonbeams,  like 
sparkling  drops  of  dew.  These  bright  objects 
sprouted  higher,  and  proved  to  be  the  steel 
heads  of  spears.  Then  there  was  a  dazzling 
gleam  from  a  vast  number  of  polished  brass 
helmets,  beneath  which,  as  they  grew  farther 
out  of  the  soil,  appeared  the  dark  and  bearded 
visages  of  warriors,  struggling  to  free  them 
selves  from  the  imprisoning  earth.  The  first 
look  that  they  gave  at  the  upper  world  was  a 
glare  of  wrath  and  defiance.  Next  were  seen 
their  bright  breastplates;  in  every  right  hand 
there  was  a  sword  or  a  spear,  and  on  each 
lef  arm  a  shield;  and  when  this  strange  crop 
of  warriors  had  but  half  grown  out  of  the 
earth  they  struggled — such  was  their  impa 
tience  of  restraint — and,  as  it  were,  tore  them- 


296  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

selves  up  by  the  roots.  Wherever  a  dragon's 
tooth  had  fallen,  there  stood  a  man  armed  for 
battle.  They  made  a  clangor  with  their 
swords  against  their  shields,  and  eyed  one 
another  fiercely ;  for  they  had  come  into  this 
beautiful  world,  and  into  the  peaceful  moon 
light,  full  of  rage  and  stormy  passions,  and 
ready  to  take  the  life  of  every  human  brother, 
in  recompense  of  the  boon  of  their  own  exist 
ence 

There  have  been  many  other  armies  in  the 
world  that  seemed  to  possess  the  same  fierce 
nature  with  the  one  which  had  now  sprouted 
from  the  dragon's  teeth;  but  these,  in  the 
moonlit  field,  were  the  more  excusable,  because 
they  never  had  women  for  their  mothers.  And 
how  it  would  have  rejoiced  any  great  captain, 
who  was  bent  on  conquering  the  world,  like 
Alexander  or  Napoleon,  to  raise  a  crop  of 
armed  soldiers  as  easily  as  Jason  did! 

For  a  while  the  warriors  stood  flourishing 
their  weapons,  clashing  their  swords  against 
their  shields,  and  boiling  over  with  the  red-hot 
thirst  for  battle.  Then  they  began  to  shout, 
4  *  Show  us  the  enemy!  Lead  us  to  the  charge! 
Death  or  victory !  Come  on,  brave  comrades ! 
Conquer  or  die !"  and  a  hundred  other  outcries, 
such  as  men  always  bellow  forth  on  a  battle- 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  297 

field,  and  which  these  dragon  people  seemed  to 
have  at  their  tongues*  ends.  At  last,  the  front 
rank  caught  sight  of  Jason,  who,  beholding 
the  flash  of  so  many  weapons  in  the  moonlight, 
had  thought  it  best  to  draw  his  sword.  In  a 
moment  all  the  sons  of  the  dragon's  teeth 
appeared  to  take  Jason  for  an  enemy;  and  cry 
ing  with  one  voice,  " Guard  the  Golden" 
Fleece!"  they  ran  at  him  with  uplifted 
swords  and  protruded  spears.  Jason  knew  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  withstand  this  blood 
thirsty  battalion  with  his  single  arm,  but  de 
termined,  since  there  was  nothing  better  to  be 
done,  to  die  as  valiantly  as  if  he  himself  had 
sprung  from  a  dragon's  tooth. 

Medea,  however,  bade  him  snatch  up  a  stone 
from  the  ground. 

44 Throw  it  among  them  quickly!"  cried  she. 
"It  is  the  only  way  to  save  yourself.  " 

The  armed  men  were  now  so  nigh  that  Jason 
could  discern  the  fire  flashing  out  of  their  en 
raged  eyes,  when  he  let  fly  the  stone,  and  saw 
'  it  strike  the  helmet  of  a  tall  warrior,  who  was 
rushing  upon  him  with  his  blade  aloft.  The 
stone  glanced  from  this  man's  helmet  to  the 
shield  of  his  nearest  comrade,  and  thence  flew 
right  into  the  angry  face  of  another,  hitting 
him  smartly  between  the  eyes.  Each  of  the 


298  TANGLEWOOD  TALES, 

three  who  had  been  struck  by  the  stone  took  it 
for  granted  that  his  next  neighbor  had  given 
him  a  blow ;  and  instead  of  running  any  far 
ther  towards  Jason,  they  began  a  fight  among 
themselves.  The  confusion  spread  through 
the  host,  so  that  it  seemed  scarcely  a  moment 
before  they  were  all  hacking,  hewing,  and 
stabbing  at  one  another,  lopping  off  arms, 
heads,  and  legs,  and  doing  such  memorable 
deeds  that  Jason  was  filled  with  immense  ad 
miration  ;  although,  at  the  same  time,  he  could 
not  help  laughing  to  behold  these  mighty  men 
punishing  each  other  for  an  offence  which  he 
himself  had  committed.  In  an  incredibly 
short  space  of  time  (almost  as  short,  indeed,  as 
it  had  taken  them  to  grow  up),  all  but  one  of 
the  heroes  of  the  dragon's  teeth  were  stretched 
lifeless  on  the  field.  The  last  survivor,  the 
bravest  and  strongest  of  the  whole,  had  just 
force  enough  to  wave  his  crimson  sword  over 
his  head,  and  give  a  shout  of  exultation,  cry 
ing  ' 'Victory!  Victory!  Immortal  fame!"  when 
he  himself  fell  down,  and  lay  quietly  among 
his  slain  brethren. 

And  there  was  the  end  of  the  army  that  had 
sprouted  from  the  dragon's  teeth.  That 
fierce  and  feverish  fight  was  the  only  enjoy- 


TANGLEWOOD  TALES.  299 

ment  which  they  had  tasted  on  this  beautiful 
earth. 

"Let  them  sleep  in  the  bed  of  honor,"  said 
the  Princess  Medea,  with  a  sly  smile  at  Jason. 
4 'The  world  will  always  have  simpletons 
enough,  just  like  them,  fighting  and  dying  for 
they  know  not  what,  and  fancying  that  poster 
ity  will  take  the  trouble  to  put  laurel  wreaths 
on  their  rusty  and  battered  helmets.  Could 
you  help  smiling,  Prince  Jason,  to  see  the  self- 
conceit  of  that  last  fellow,  just  as  he  tumbled 
down?" 

"It  made  me  very  sad,"  answered  Jason, 
gravely,  "and,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  princess, 
the  Golden  Fleece  does  not  appear  so  well 
worth  the  winning,  after  what  I  have  here 
beheld. " 

"You  will  think  differently  in  the  morning," 
said  Medea.  "True,  the  Golden  Fleece  may 
not  be  so  valuable  as  you  have  thought  it ;  but 
then  there  is  nothing  better  in  the  world;  and 
one  must  needs  have  an  object,  you  know. 
Come!  Your  night's  work  has  been  well  per 
formed;  and  to-morrow  you  can  inform  King 
/Etes  that  the  first  part  of  your  allotted  task  is 
fulfilled." 

Agreeably  to  Medea's  advice,  Jason  went 
.betimes  in  the  morning  to  the  palace  of  King 


300  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

^Etes.  Entering  the  presence-chamber,  he 
stood  at  the  foot  of  the  throne,  and  made  a  low 
obeisance. 

44 Your  eyes  look  heavy,  Prince  Jason,"  ob 
served  the  king;  "you  appear  to  have  spent  a 
sleepless  night.  I  hope  you  have  been  consid 
ering  the  matter  a  little  more  wisely,  and  have 
concluded  not  to  get  yourself  scorched  to  a 
cinder,  in  attempting  to  tame  my  brazen- 
lunged  bulls. ' ' 

44 That  is  already  accomplished,  may  it  please 
your  Majesty,"  replied  Jason.  "The  bulls 
have  been  tamed  and  yoked ;  the  field  has  been 
ploughed;  the  dragon's  teeth  have  been  sown 
broadcast,  and  harrowed  into  the  soil ;  the  crop 
of  armed  warriors  has  sprung  up,  and  they 
have  slain  one  another,  to  the  last  man.  And 
now  I  solicit  your  Majesty's  permission  to  en 
counter  the  dragon,  that  I  may  take  down  the 
Golden  Fleece  from  the  tree,  and  depart,  with 
my  nine-and-forty  comrades." 

King  ^Etes  scowled,  and  looked  very  angry 
and  excessively  disturbed;  for  he  knew  that, 
in  accordance  with  his  kingly  promise,  he 
ought  now  to  permit  Jason  to  win  the  Fleece, 
if  his  courage  and  skill  should  enable  him  to 
do  so.  But,  since  the  young  man  had  met  with 
such  good  luck  in  the  matter  of  the  brazen 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  301 

bulls  and  the  dragon's  teeth,  the  king  feared 
that  he  would  be  equally  successful  in  slaying 
the  dragon.  And,  therefore,  though  he  would 
gladly  have  seen  Jason  snapped  up  at  a  mouth 
ful,  he  was  resolved  (and  it  was  a  very  wrong 
thing  of  this  wicked  potentate)  not  to  run  any 
further  risk  of  losing  his  beloved  Fleece. 

"You  never  would  have  succeeded  in  this 
business,  young  man,"  said  he,  <4if  my  unduti- 
ful  daughter  Medea  had  not  helped  you  with 
her  enchantments.  Had  you  acted  fairly,  you 
would  have  been,  at  this  instant,  a  black  cin 
der,  or  a  handful  of  white  ashes.  I  forbid  you, 
on  pain  of  death,  to  make  any  more  attempts 
to  get  the  Golden  Fleece.  To  speak  my  mind 
plainly,  you  shall  never  set  eyes  on  so  much  as 
one  of  its  glistening  locks. ' ' 

Jason  left  the  king's  presence  in  great  sor 
row  and  anger.  He  could  think  of  nothing 
better  to  be  done  than  to  summon  together  his 
forty-nine  brave  Argonauts,  march  at  once  to 
the  grove  of  Mars,  slay  the  dragon,  take  pos 
session  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  get  on  board  the 
Argo,  and  spread  all  sail  for  lolchos.  The 
success  of  the  scheme  depended,  it  is  true,  on 
the  doubtful  point  whether  all  the  fifty  heroes 
might  not  be  snapped  up,  at  so  many  mouth- 
fuls,  by  the  dragon.  But,  as  Jason  was  has- 


302  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

tening  down  the  palace  steps,  the  Princess 
Medea  called  after  him,  and  beckoned  him  to 
return.  Her  black  eyes  shone  upon  him  with 
such  a  keen  intelligence,  that  he  felt  as  if  there 
were  a  serpent  peeping  out  of  them ;  and 
although  she  had  done  him  so  much  service 
only  the  night  before,  he  was  by  no  means 
very  certain  that  she  would  not  do  him  an 
equally  great  mischief  before  sunset.  These 
enchantresses,  you  must  know,  are  never  to  be 
depended  upon. 

44  What  says  King  ^Etes,  my  royal  and  up 
right  father?"  inquired  Medea,  slightly  smil 
ing.  "Will  he  give  to  you  the  Golden  Fleece, 
without  any  further  risk  or  trouble?'* 

"On  the  contrary,"  answered  Jason,  "he  is 
very  angry  with  me  for  taming  the  brazen 
bulls  and  sowing  the  dragon's  teeth.  And  he 
forbids  me  to  make  any  more  attempts,  and 
positively  refuses  to  give  up  the  Golden 
Fleece,  whether  I  slay  the  dragon  or  not." 

"Yes,  Jason,"  said  the  princess,  "and  T  can 
tell  you  more.  Unless  you  set  sail  from  Col 
chis  before  to-morrow's  sunrise,  the  king  means 
to  burn  your  fifty-oared  galley,  and  put  your 
self  and  your  forty-nine  brave  comrades  to  the 
sword.  But  be  of  good  courage.  The  Golden 
Fleece  you  shall  have,  if  it  lies  within  the 


TANGLEWOOD   TALES.  303 

power  of   my  enchantments  to  get  it  for  you. 
Wait  for  me  here  an  hour  before  midnight." 

At  the  appointed  hour,  you  might  again 
have  seen  Prince  Jason  and  Princess  Medea, 
side  by  side,  stealing  through  the  streets  of 
Colchis,  on  their  way  to  the  sacred  grove,  in 
the  center  of  which  the  Golden  Fleece  was  sus 
pended  to  a  tree.  While  they  were  crossing 
the  pasture-ground,  the  brazen  bulls  came 
towards  Jason,  lowing,  nodding  their  heads, 
and  thrusting  forth  their  snouts,  which,  as 
other  cattle  do,  they  loved  to  have  rubbed  and 
caressed  by  a  friendly  hand.  Their  fierce 
nature  was  thoroughly  tamed;  and,  with  their 
fierceness,  the  two  furnaces  in  their  stomachs 
had  likewise  been  extinguished,  insomuch  that 
they  probably  enjoyed  far  more  comfort  in 
grazing  and  chewing  their  cuds  than  ever 
before.  Indeed,  it  had  heretofore  been  a  great 
inconvenience  to  these  poor  animals,  that, 
whenever  they  wished  to  eat  a  mouthful  of 
grass,  the  fire  out  of  their  nostrils  had  shriv 
eled  it  up,  before  they  could  manage  to  crop  it. 
How  they  contrived  to  keep  themselves  alive 
is  more  than  I  can  imagine.  But  now,  instead 
of  emitting  jets  of  flame  and  streams  of 
suphurous  vapor,  they  breathed  the  very 
sweetest  of  cow  breafVi. 


304  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

After  kindly  patting  the  bulls,  Jason  fol 
lowed  Medea's  guidance  into  the  grove  of 
Mars,  where  the  great  oak  trees,  that  had  been 
growing  for  centuries,  threw  so  thick  a  shade 
that  the  moonbeams  struggled  vainly  to  find 
their  way  through  it.  Only  here  and  there  a 
glimmer  fell  upon  the  leaf-strewn  earth,  or 
now  and  then  a  breeze  stirred  the  boughs 
aside,  and  gave  Jason  a  glimpse  of  the  sky, 
lest,  in  that  deep  obscurity,  he  might  forget 
that  there  was  one  overhead.  At  length,  when 
they  had  gone  farther  and  farther  into  the 
heart  of  the  duskiness,  Medea  squeezed  Jason's 
hand. 

4 'Look  yonder,"  she  whispered.  "Do  you 
see  it?" 

Gleaming  among  the  venerable  oaks,  there 
was  a  radiance,  not  like  the  moonbeams,  but 
rather  resembling  the  golden  glory  of  the  set 
ting  sun.  It  proceeded  from  an  object  which 
appeared  to  be  suspended  at  about  a  man's 
height  from  the  ground,  a  little  farther  within 
the  wood. 

44 What  is  it?"  asked  Jason. 

4  *  Have  you  come  so  far  to  seek  it, "  exclaimed 
Medea,  "and  do  you  not  recognize  the  meed 
of  all  your  toils  and  perils,  when  it  glitters  be 
fore  your  eyes?  It  is  the  Golden  Fleece. ' ' 


TANGLEWOOD  TALEb.  305 

Jason  went  onward  a  few  steps  farther,  and 
then  stopped  to  gaze.  Oh,  how  beautiful  it 
looked,  shining  with  a  marvelous  light  of  its 
own,  that  inestimable  prize;  which  so  many 
heroes  had  longed  to  behold,  but  had  perished 
in  the  quest  of  it,  either  by  the  perils  of  their 
voyage,  or  by  the  fiery  breath  of  the  brazen- 
lunged  bulls. 

44 How  gloriously  it  shines,"  cried  Jason,  in 
a  rapture.  44It  has  surely  been  dipped  in  the 
richest  gold  of  sunset.  Let  me  hasten  onward, 
and  take  it  to  my  bosom/' 

44 Stay,"  said  Medea,  holding  him  back. 
44 Have  you  forgotten  what  guards  it?" 

To  say  the  truth,  in  the  joy  of  beholding  the 
object  of  his  desire,  the  terrible  dragon  had 
quite  slipped  out  of  Jason's  memory.  Soon, 
however,  something  came  to  pass  that  re 
minded  him  what  perils  were  still  to  be  en 
countered.  An  antelope,  that  probably  mis 
took  the  yellow  radiance  for  sunrise,  came 
bounding  fleetly  through  the  grove.  He  was 
rushing  straight  towards  the  Golden  Fleece, 
when  suddenly  there  was  a  frightful  hiss,  and 
the  immense  head  and  half  the  scaly  body  of 
the  dragon  was  thrust  forth  (for  he  was  twistec! 
round  the  trunk  of  the  tree  on  which  the  Fleece 

20    Tangiewood  Tales 


506  TANGLEWOOD   TALES. 

hung), and  seizing  the  poor  antelope,  swallowed 
him  with  one  snap  of  his  jaws. 

After  this  feat  the  dragon  seemed  sensible 
that  some  other  living  creature  was  within 
reach  on  which  he  felt  inclined  to  finish  his 
meal.  In  various  directions  he  kept  poking 
his  ugly  snout  among  the  trees,  stretching  out 
his  neck  a  terribly  long  way,  now  here,  now 
there,  and  now  close  to  the  spot  where  Jason 
and  the  princess  were  hiding  behind  an  oak. 
Upon  my  word,  as  the  head  came  waving  and 
undulating  through  the  air,  and  reaching 
almost  within  arm's  length  of  Prince  Jason,  it 
was  a  very  hideous  and  uncomfortable  sight. 
The  gape  of  his  enormous  jaws  was  nearly  as 
wide  as  the  gateway  of  the  king's  palace. 

"Well,  Jason,"  whispered  Medea  (for  she 
was  ill-natured,  as  all  enchantresses  are,  and 
wanted  to  make  the  bold  youth  tremble),  "  what 
do  you  think  now  of  your  prospect  of  winning 
the  Golden  Fleece?" 

Jason  answered  only  by  drawing  his  sword 
and  making  a  step  forward. 

"Stay,  foolish  youth,"  said  Medea,  grasping 
his  arm.  "Do  not  you  see  you  are  lost,  with 
out  me  as  your  good  angel?  In  this  gold  box 
I  have  a  magic  potion,  which  will  do  the  drag- 


TANGLE  WOOD   TALES.  307 

on's  business  far  more  effectually  than  your 
sword. ' ' 

The  dragon  had  probably  heard  the  voices; 
for,  swift  as  lightning,  his  black  head  and 
forked  tongue  came  hissing  among  the  trees 
again,  darting  full  forty  feet  at  a  stretch.  As 
it  approached,  Medea  tossed  the  contents  of  the 
gold  box  down  the  monster's  wide  open  throat 
Immediately,  with  an  outrageous  hiss  and  a 
tremendous  wriggle, — flinging  his  tail  up  t0 
the  tip-top  of  the  tallest  tree,  and  shattering 
all  its  branches  as  it  crashed  heavily  down 
again, — the  dragon  fell  at  full  length  upon  the 
ground,  and  lay  quite  motionless. 

44 It  is  only  a  sleeping  potion,"  said  the  en 
chantress  to  Prince  Jason.  "One  always  finds 
a  use  for  these  mischievous  creatures,  soon  or 
later;  so  I  did  not  wish  to  kill  him  outright. 
Quick!  Snatch  the  prize,  and  let  us  begone. 
You  have  won  the  Golden  Fleece." 

Jason  caught  the  Fleece  from  the  tree,  and 
hurried  through  the  grove,  the  deep  shadows 
of  which  were  illuminated  as  he  passed  by  the 
golden  glory  of  the  precious  object  that  he 
bore  along.  A  little  way  before  him,  he  beheld 
the  old  woman  whom  he  had  helped  over  the 
stream,  with  her  peacock  beside  her.  She 
clapped  her  hands  for  joy,  and  beckoning  him 


308  TANGLEWOOD  TALES. 

to  make  naste,  disappeared  among  the 
ness  of  the  trees.  Espying  the  two  winged 
sons  of  the  North  Wind  (who  were  disporting 
themselves  in  the  moonlight,  a  few  hundred 
feet  aloft),  Jason  bade  them  tell  the  rest  of 
the  Argonauts  to  embark  as  speedily  as  possi 
ble.  But  Lynceus,  with  his  sharp  eyes,  had 
already  caught  a  glimpse  of  him,  bringing  the 
Golden  Fleece,  although  several  stone-walls,  a 
hill,  and  the  black  shadows  of  the  grove  of 
Mars  intervened  between.  By  his  advice,  the 
heroes  had  seated  themselves  on  the  benches 
of  the  galley, with  their  oars  held  perpendicu 
larly,  ready  to  let  fall  into  the  water.  As 
Jason  drew  near,  he  heard  the  Talking  Image 
calling  to  him  with  more  than  ordinary  eager 
ness,  in  its  grave,  sweet  voice : — 

"Make  haste,  Prince  Jason!  For  your  life, 
make  haste!" 

With  one  bound  he  leaped  aboard.  At  sight 
of  the  glorious  radiance  of  the  Golden  Fleece^ 
the  nine-and-forty  heroes  gave  a  mighty  shout, 
and  Orpheus,  striking  his  harp,  sang  a  song  of 
triumph,  to  the  cadence  of  which  the  galley 
flew  over  the  water,  homeward  bound,  as  if 
careering  along  with  wings! 

THE  END, 


We  are  the  Sole  Publishers  of  Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox's  Books 

The  Poetical  and  Prose  Works  of 

ELLA    WHEELER    WILCOX 

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the  book  is  sure  to  find  additional  favor. 

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De  Luxe  Edition,  white  vellum,  gold  top 1  50 

New  Illustrated  Edition,  extra  cloth,  gold  top 1  50 


eVERY-DAY  THOUGHTS— !n  Prose 
and  Verse. 

Her  latest,  largest  and  greatest  prose  work.  This  brilliant 
work  consists  of  a  series  of  forceful,  logical  and  fascinating 
"talks"  to  every  member  of  the  household,  in  which  the 
author  fearlessly,  but  with  delicacy,  discusses  every-day  sub 
jects,  and  directs  attention  to  those  evils  which  menace  the 
peace  and  safety  of  the  home.  "Every-day  Thoughts"  is  not  a 
mere  book  of  advice,  neither  does  it  attempt  to  preach,  but  it 
contains  more  good  counsel  and  wholesome  moral  lessons 
than  are  to  be  found  in  the  average  sermon. 

"These  thoughts,  lofty  and  uplifting,  are  stated  with  viril 
ity,  both  in  prose  and  verse.  The  noble  sentiments  expressed 
in  this  volume  will  widen  the  circle  of  her  admirers."— Roches 
ter  Times, 

"Few  people  are  so  good  as  not  to  be  made  better  by  a  stu 
dious  perusal  of  this  useful  and  interesting  book,  which  U  in 
brief,  a  short  and  vigorous  dissertation  on  rooral  conduct  and  the 
springs  of  right  living.  Mrs.  Wilcox's  latest  publication  is  a 
worthy  addition  to  the  best  works  of  moral  philosophy  and  her 
treatise  deserves  wide  reading."— New  York  Daily  News. 

Presentation  Edition,  12mo,  gray  cloth,  gold  top $1.50 

De  Luxe  Edition,  white  vellum,  gold  top 2.00 

KINGDOM  OF  LOVE.  AND  OTHER  POEMS. 

A  magnificent  collection  of  poems  suitable  for  rec/t  at  Ions  and  read 
ings,  true  to  the  very  best  there  Is  In  human  nature. 

In  the  preface  to  this  collection,  the  author  says:  "I  am 
constantly  urged  by  readers  and  impersonators  to  furnish 
them  with  verses  for  recitation.  In  response  to  this  ever- 
increasing  demand,  I  haVe  selected  for  this  volume  the  poems 
which  seem  suitable  for  such  a  purpose.  In  making  my  col 
lection  of  them.  I  have  been  obliged  to  use,  not  those  which 
are  among  my  best  efforts  in  a  literary  or  artistic  sense,  but 
those  which  contain  the  best  dramatic  possibilities  for  profes- 

"Her  fame  has  reached  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  her  pop 
ularity  seems  to  grow  with  each  succeeding  year."— American 
Bookseller. 

Presentation  Edition,  dark  red  cloth $1.00 

De  Luxe  Edition,  white  vellum,  gold  top 1.60 

AN  AMBITIOUS  MAN— Prose. 

A  realistic  novel  of  the  modern  school  of  fiction.  Although 
the  plot  borders  on  the  sensational,  the  motive  of  the  story  is 
a  good  one.  It  teaches  that  hereditary  tendencies  can  be 
overcome;  that  one  can  conquer  passion  and  impulse  by  the 
use  of  the  divine  inheritance  of  Will,  and  compel  public  re 
spect  by  lofty  ideals;  in  other  words,  that  one  may  rise  on  the 
"stepping-stones  of  a  dead  self  to  higher  things."  Mrs.  Wilcox 
is  a  successful  novel-writer  as  well  as  a  poet,  and  this  story  is 
another  evidence  of  her  wide  range  of  thought.  "In  'An 
Ambitious  Man'  the  central  figure  is  a  woman,  who  becomes 
chastened  through  suffering  and  purified  through  sin." 

"Vivid  realism  stands  forth  from  every  page  of  this  fasci 
nating  and  interesting  book."— Every  Day. 
Presentation  Edition,  green  silk  cloth $1.00 


AN  ERRING  WOMAN'S  LOVE. 

There  is  always  a  fascination  in  Mrs.  Wilcox's  verse,  but 
in  these  beautiful  examples  of  her  genius  she  shows  a  wonder 
ful  knowledge  of  the  human  heart. 

"Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox  has  impressed  many  thousands  of 
people  with  the  extreme  beauty  of  her  philosophy  and  the 
exceeding  usefulness  of  her  point  of  view."— Boston  Globe. 

"Mrs.  Wilcox  stands  at  the  head  of  feminine  writers,  and 
her  verses  and  essays  are  more  widely  copied  and  read  than 
those  of  any  other  American  literary  woman."— New  York 
World.  "Power  and  pathos  characterize  this  magnificent 
poem.  A  deep  understanding  of  life  and  an  intense  sympathy 
are  beautifully  expressed." — Chicago  Tribune. 

Presentation  Edition,  12mo,  light  brown  cloth $1.00 

De  Luxe  Edition,  white  vellum,  gold  top 1.50 

MEN,  WOMEN  AND  EMOTIONS. 

A  skilful  analysis  of  social  habits,  customs  and  follies.  A 
common-sense  view  of  life  from  its  varied  standpoints  —  full 
of  sage  advice. 

"These  essays  tend  to  meet  difficulties  that  arise  in  almost 

every  life Full  of  sound  and  helpful  admonition,  and  ig 

sure  to  assist  in  smoothing  the  rough  ways  of  life  wherever  it 
be  read  and  heeded."— Pittsburg  Times. 

12mo,  heavy  enameled  p%per $0.50 

Presentation  Edition,  dark  brown  cloth 1.00 

THE  BEAUTIFUL  LAND  OF  NOD. 

A  collection  of  poems,  songs,  stories,  and  allegories  dealing 
with  child  life.  The  work  is  profusely  illustrated  with  dainty 
line  engravings  and  photographs  from  life. 

"The  delight  of  tne  nursery;  the  foremost  baby's  book  in 
the  world."— N.  O.  Picayune. 
Quarto,  sage  green  cloth $1.00 

AROUND  THE  YEAR  WITH 
ELLA  WHEELER  WILCOX 

A  Birthday  Book  Compiled  from  the 
Poetical  and  Prose  Writings  of 
Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox 

The  many  admirers  of  Mrs.  Wilcox  will  welcome  this  vol 
ume  with  genuine  enthusiasm.  It  epitomizes  her  inspiring 
optimistic  philosophy  with  an  apposite  quotation  for  every 
day  in  the  circling  year. 

The  book  is  a  small  quarto  in  size,  beautifully  printed  on 
excellent  paper  with  red-line  borders,  and  handsomely  bound 
in  cloth,  with  exquisite  half-tone  illustrations  prefacing  each 
month,  and  with  author's  portrait. 

Presentation  Edition,  olive  green  cloth $}-?5 

De  Luxe  Edition,  white  vellum,  gold  top 1.50 

Autograph  Edition,  full  leather,  gold  top.,.. 2.00 


W    R   mUKFY  rrUIPANY    Hammnnri 


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